Kismet
by bellakitse
Summary: What if Rory and Logan met in Europe and had an instant connection. What happens when their summer romance collides with their real lives. Set in season 5.
1. Saying Good Bye, Saying Hello

A/N: So hi I know that some people will recognize this, but for those who are reading this for the first time let me explain. I started this story back when season 5 was originally airing over at the original 'Illusive' site. I got up to chapter 14 and then stop. That was many years ago.

There were a number of reasons why I abandon the story, at the time I went on a medication that caused me anxiety and I couldn't sit still long enough to put anything to paper. I was also losing interests in the show cause I felt the characters where becoming something they weren't (Real Rory would have never left school cause of what Logan's dad said, seriously).

Among other things Kismet just got pushed aside. Still it's one of my best received stories; years later I still get e-mails asking about it, which really honors me. So it's because of those lovely people that still ask for it that I have started writing it again. I dedicate Kismet to them, the girls at Illusive and in particular to my beta Em who has been the greatest supporter of this story, Kismet getting finished will be because of her.

**1. Saying Goodbye, Saying Hello**

'_What have I done?'_

_Amazing how four words and the action that prompted them can change everything you know and love. Change the way you view yourself, the life you lead, the people in your life, how you view them and how they view you._

Rory Gilmore stared blankly at the people buzzing by as she sat at one of the outdoor tables of the small Barcelona café she had been visiting since her arrival with her grandmother in Spain. She asked herself the same question over and over again. She replayed the events of the past week over and over again also - as if her brain was in some vicious loop that wouldn't let her have a moment's rest. Her mother's distress, Dean's anger and her own actions continued to play - asking herself when she had become someone she couldn't even begin to recognize.

_**Lorelai stared at her daughter with a pained expression as she pinpointed the emotion she had been feeling since Rory and Dean walked out of Rory's bedroom._

_Disappointment. _

_She was disappointed with her daughter, something she never thought she would feel about Rory._

_She watched as her daughter and her daughter's ex tried to fix their disheveled clothes, watched as the boy that she once loved for her child left their house - leaving a thick cloud of silence and awkwardness between mother and daughter, something that had never occurred before that moment._

_"How could you do this, Rory?"_

_Rory sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I don't know what happened, Mom, but I do know I don't want to talk about it right now."_

_Lorelai felt her anger grow as she heard her daughter. "Too damn bad, Rory, he's married!"_

_"I know he's married, Mom, do you really think that that little fact has escaped me!" Rory shouted back as her mother got louder._

_"Then, why, why would you do this?"_

_"I don't know alright… I didn't plan for this to happen. I didn't wake up and say what should I do today… Oh! I know, let me lose my virginity to my ex-boyfriend who's married." Rory threw back at her mother, knowing that the only way to get through the horrible moment without breaking down was to be defensive._

_"Don't joke, Rory, not now!" Lorelai said sternly._

_"Has it occurred to you that maybe I was just lonely and that I, in a moment of stupidity and fear, turned to a secure place?" Rory asked pleadingly, begging silently that her mother would understand, but as she looked at her, she knew that the shock of her discovery was still with Lorelai and that, for the moment at least, she wouldn't get an ounce of understanding from her. With every bit of strength that she could muster, she channeled her grandmother - stood up straight and looked at her mother with a steady gaze. "But like I said, I don't want to talk about this."_

_Lorelai stared at her, shaking her head softly and spoke before she started to leave the house once again. "I'm so let down by you, Rory."_

_Rory stood there watching her mother leave; the sob she was holding in did not come out until she heard the door shut. Hearing her mother voice over in her head, she sank onto the floor, overcome by the power of her own weeping. _

'_Not as let down as I am in myself, Mom.' **_

"What can I bring you, Bonita?"

Rory looked at the young waiter in front of her who spoke in a heavy Spanish accent; she smiled at him, grateful that he had interrupted her turbulent thoughts even if he didn't know it. "Café solo, por favor."

"The lady knows Spanish." The waiter smiled at her warmly as he had been doing for the last week that she had been visiting the small establishment.

Rory shook her head, laughing softly. "Poquito… I'm practicing."

The waiter laughed with her. "And I practice my English... un café solo... I'll be back."

Rory watched the waiter walk away. "Back…"

** _"I want you back, Rory. We can go back to the way we were before, before everything went wrong."_

_Rory looked around Miss Patty's dance studio, unable to look straight at Dean as she heard the hopefulness in his voice. He knew. He knew what she had come to say when she called him. He also knew that she was right, deep down he knew, but he couldn't go back, she knew that herself. He couldn't say it was a mistake when the damage was already done._

_Looking up at him, pain flashing across his face, she started finally, "Dean…" and quickly before desperation took over, a desperation thinly veiled by false hope._

_"Rory, we can be happy, I…"_

_"You're married."_

_"Rory…."_

_"You're married to Lindsay." She said softly, tears welling up in her eyes as she said it. Not because she had lost her first love to the other woman, but because in her need to feel safe and loved she had hurt the first boy she had ever cared for. Twisted their love so much so that neither would ever be able to remember it with fondness. And now, they had both hurt an innocent woman who had no idea of the betrayal._

_"I was married to her last night too, Rory!" Dean screamed, tears rising up in his eyes also. His were tears of anger at her, tears of frustration at himself and tears of defeat. "What am I going to do about Lindsay?"_

_"That's up to you, Dean… I won't interfere and while I have no right to dish out advice and you have no reason to listen to me… lies and secrets are the fastest ways to ruin a relationship."_

_"Yeah, look at us and your lies." Dean spat at her._

_Rory took the insult head on. "You're right, we are a perfect example… if I had told you from the beginning that I fell out of love with you and that I was falling for Jess, maybe we wouldn't be here today, maybe we wouldn't have hurt each other so much, but that stops now. Our mistakes stop now. I'm saying good-bye, Dean, to our past, to our mistakes, to our pain. I'm sure we'll see each other around town but as of now our past should be left where it should have been left long ago… in the memories of first love… good-bye, Dean."_

_She looked at him once more - his face hard-lined with pain and anger. He hated her, at least for now, and as much as that hurt her, she knew that his hating her now would be better than all the added pain they would cause each other if they tried to revive their dead relationship from the ruins. **_

Rory broke away once more from her reminiscing; she and Dean had not talked since. Her mother and she weren't much better after her confrontation with Dean. She had gone to the Dragonfly where her mother and grandmother had been waiting to have lunch with her. The uneasiness between her and her mother had been so overwhelming that when her grandmother had asked her if she wanted to travel Europe with her, she had jumped at the chance. After that, Lorelai and she had had nothing but short and tensed conversations that frankly after a while had stopped hurting her and had downright annoyed her. She made the mistake, she knew that and she didn't need Lorelai to remind her anymore than her own mind did already.

"Café solo for the beautiful niña." The young male waiter said as he placed the cup of coffee.

Rory looked up at the charming, smiling face of the waiter and smiled back. "Thank you."

"And this is from the señor over there." He continued as he placed a long-stemmed, red rose on the table.

Rory looked over where the waiter had gestured - there sat a young man who had to be at the most one or two years older than her. He was looking straight at her and flashed her a warm smile when her eyes locked with his. He was well dress in black slacks and a thin-fitting, dark grey, long-sleeved shirt. He had blond hair that laid disarray as if he had just gotten up and his brown eyes twinkled playfully as she stared a little too long. His smile grew with her scrutiny and she couldn't help the smile that played at her lips. His expression amused her and even though she would never admit it to anyone, she was always a sucker for the mischievous hand-caught-in-the-cookie-jar type.

"He's been here just about every day this week like you have." The waiter commented and she nodded absently as she thought back to the days before. The waiter was right; she did vaguely remember having seen the blond man before.

"Thank you."

The waiter gave a slight bow that made her smile once more and then he left. She took the rose and touched the petals softly; she looked over to the table where the young man sat only to find it empty. A surprising wave of disappointment passed through her that she quickly, mentally scolded herself for. She wasn't here for that, she was here for rest, to recoup before she had to face her life once again.

"Mind if I sit down?"

Rory looked up; there next to her stood the man smiling down at her. He was better looking than she had first thought. He had the looks that could take someone's breath away. She gestured at the other chair at her table, which he took.

"Thank you for the rose… it's beautiful."

"You're welcome. I've wanted to approach you before but you always seem miles away… today, I couldn't contain myself anymore."

Rory smiled at him. "So, you've been watching me."

"Yes."

"So, you're my stalker? Huh! I always thought you had to come out with a C.D. before you get one of those."

He smiled at her response. "Am I freaking you out?"

"Not yet."

"Well, allow me to introduce myself before I do…"

"Oh! So, you're planning to?" Rory interrupted.

He rolled his eyes playfully which caused her to chuckle. "I'm Logan."

"Rory"

"I've never heard that name before." He commented.

"It's my nickname, my real name is Lorelai."

"Well…" He began taking one of her hands that rested on the table and brought it to his lips. "It's very nice to meet you…Lorelai."

xxx

Logan Huntzberger sat for the fourth day at the local café - it was a quarter to three - if the same pattern held up, she would be arriving any minute. Everyday this week, the same girl had been showing up at the same time when he was usually there. The café being always slow at this time of day was the excuse his brain gave him for noticing her right way. That excuse was nothing but a lie. She was beautiful, that was the reason why he had noticed her right way. Shoulder length hair the color of chocolate, porcelain skin that was flawless and a body that could make any man's mind wander. However, her most beautiful feature were her eyes - big blue eyes that would suck anybody right in. The first time he had seen her eyes, he had forgotten how to breathe for a moment.

Blue eyes full of sadness. He could tell right away, eyes like those couldn't hide anything. He watched her everyday knowing he shouldn't but not being able to stop himself. Just by looking at her, Logan could feel her sadness in waves. Every time her eyes glazed over, he knew she was thinking about what was causing her so much pain. She always had a smile for her waiter, but that smile always left her lips when she was left alone.

He understood that being alone, she had to think. It was why he always surrounded himself with people. That was why he finally approached her when she arrived, after watching for a while as she went into her world. He watched as the waiter came and went, finally calling him over so he could ask him to give her the rose he had bought from the vendor who passed the café. He watched her smile as the rose was place on her table. As she looked over at him, he reminded himself to breathe, to smile back and not just stare like a small boy with a school crush.

When the waiter left her table, he stood up quietly and walked over to her. "Mind if I sit down?"

She looked up at him and he told himself once more to breathe, to keep breathing. She motioned to the only other chair at her table and he took it. She thanked him for the rose and he told her about wanting to come up to her and she made a crack about him being her stalker. For a moment he was afraid he had upset her.

"Am I freaking you out?"

"Not yet."

"Well, allow me to introduce myself before I do…"

"Oh! So, you're planning to?"

He rolled his eyes and she laughed; he couldn't help but grin. She had a beautiful laugh and he was surprised at how happy he was that she was joking with him. "I'm Logan."

When she introduced herself as 'Rory', he made a comment that he had never really heard the name before. She explained that it was her nickname, that 'Lorelai' was her name. Rory. Lorelai. Both names were beautiful. He took her hand, trying hard for the moment to ignore the spark that went through him when he touched her and brought her hand to his lips.

"Well…It's very nice to meet you…Lorelai."


	2. Meet me in Paris

**A/N: So thank you to those who have already put this on alert very cool. I be posting once a week after, so except more next week.**

**A/N 2: Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls it's would have ended so differently.**

**2. Meet Me in Paris**

_**"Rory." She said, smiling._

"_Not Lorelai, huh?" He asked curiously._

"_It sounds weird… it's my mother's name, too… and that's why everyone else calls me Rory."_

"_Got it." He said, mockingly serious._

"_Good." She answered in the same tone._

"_I'd like to see you again, Rory, tomorrow if possible… we could meet here. What do you say?"_

_He watched her smile softly and tilted her head to the side, thinking. "Maybe."**_

That maybe had become a yes. Logan sat sipping his coffee as he checked his watch - 2:40. Rory would be there any moment and just like last week since he had finally talked to her, she would sit with him and tell him about her crazy day with her even crazier grandmother. The pattern had held up for the last five days. Since she hadn't been to Spain in her previous trip to Europe, he had taken in on himself to show her everything and anything about the beautiful country with the hope that while she was with him she would forget whatever was weighing heavily on her. He was successful for the most part: she smiled, she laughed, and she poked fun at him which she was startling good at - something which he enjoyed much to his surprise.

He still didn't understand what it was about Rory that made him feel this need to cheer her up and be around her. She was a beautiful girl that much was obvious. But so what, his head argued, beautiful women always surrounded him. He could walk into any bar in Barcelona and get anyone he wanted. He could stop his little solo trip anytime he wanted to, get on his jet and go meet his friends, and for sure, within five minutes of his arrival, he would have a drink in one hand and any girl he wanted in the other. It was more than that with Rory; he could help her and in turn help himself. If he concentrated on her loneliness, then maybe, he wouldn't have to think about his own. He remembered their conversation from the day before when she had told him that maybe they were meant to meet.

_** Logan drank his coffee quietly as he sat across from Rory; he tried not to shift nervously as she studied him. This wasn't something familiar to him. Usually when he caught a woman watching him, he laid on the charm - he flirted, he was never nervous - but Rory's blue eyes put him on edge. Not just because they were beautiful but because he could tell that Rory saw more than most, she noticed more. Everyone around him just saw him as a rich, charming man who could have anything and anyone he wanted. He was used to people seeing that, he counted on people seeing that and only that. Just a few days with Rory and he knew that she would look deeper than the face he showed the world, a face that wouldn't be enough for her curiosity._

"_Why are you here, Logan?"_

_Logan opened his mouth right away to give her the same reasons he gave his friends and parents when they asked him why he was going to travel Europe alone. He paused for a moment as he watched her watch him. Sighing, he put his coffee down. "Do you want the truth or what I have told everyone who has asked me that question?"_

_He watched as she placed her coffee down as well, and leaned in more, giving him her full attention. "How about both."_

"_Okay." He started, smiling at her. "I'm here to enjoy the beauty of Europe in the summer because I need rest, and I'm traveling alone because if I traveled with my friends I wouldn't get it."_

_Rory nodded in understanding. "And the truth?"_

"_How do you know that wasn't it?"_

_She just stared at him and waited for his response. He shook his head a little, amazed that she could already read him so well. "The truth is that I want to be alone so I don't have to pretend that everything is fine when it isn't… if I'm alone, I don't have to make believe that my life is perfect because I have money. Simply put, I'm escaping at least for the summer people's expectations of me. I'm just running away from my life for a little while."_

_They sat there, a heavy silence taking over both of them. Logan looked down into his coffee, getting lost in his response. He didn't like to admit that he was running. He only looked up when she surprised him by placing her hand over his to give him comfort. As he looked at her face, he saw understanding and support written all over it. She might not know what he was running from but she understood the need to escape. Sometimes he didn't even know why. On all accounts, he had a perfect life - one that he didn't hate at all but always found lacking._

"_Deep." She said sarcastically, breaking his serious thoughts. He smiled at her, grateful that she had broken the mood even though he knew his question would bring it back._

"_Your turn, why are you here?"_

_He wasn't wrong, he watched as her eyes cloud over for a second before she spoke. "Do you want the truth or the polite company line?"_

"_How about both." He said repeating her previous answer._

"_My grandmother is going through a hard time, so when she asked me if wanted to accompany her I figured why not, I can help my grandmother and enjoy Europe for the summer."_

_He accepted her well thought-out answer with a nod before he asked the same she had asked. "And the truth?"  
_

"_Now you're just pitching my lines, Logan." She said with a smile.  
_

_He waited for her truth quietly.  
_

"_The truth is that I've made some very big mistakes that hurt people I care about and myself. I let down one of the most important persons in my life and I let myself down. I let my fears take over and made a mistake I can't ever take back. Therefore, when my grandmother unwittingly offered me a way out, I took it like a lifeline." She said honestly, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I'm simply escaping… I'm, if only for a little while, running away from my life and the mess that I have made of it."  
_

_This time he offered support and took her hand in his. She watched as his thumb ran over her knuckles in a soothing motion, finally when she looked up she saw that devious look in his eyes, a look that would always cause her to smile.  
_

"_Deep." He mocked, causing her to laugh which was what he wanted. "Too deep for such a beautiful day… come, let's get out of here. I want to show you El Barrio Gótico, know what it is?" He asked as he placed some money on the table and stood up offering his hand for her to take.  
_

_Rory placed her hand in his, not letting go of it when she stood up and lacing her fingers with his. "The Gothic Quarter, right? I've wanted to check that out."  
_

"_It's one of the oldest and most fascinating parts of Barcelona... we can stop and see the Palacio Del Ayuntamiento which is the town hall." Logan said, raising the hand he held to his lips and placing a small kiss on the knuckles he had been rubbing earlier and flashed a charming, flirtatious grin. "You're going to love it."  
_

_Rory stopped suddenly, making him stop too. Logan turned to her curiously. "Problem?"  
_

_Rory shook her head. "No, I just wanted to say thanks, Logan, for whatever reason you have come into my life at the exact moment I need something new and happy in it. A few days ago I was miserable, only smiling when I had to so that my grandmother wouldn't catch on and feel bad about me not enjoying myself… and now, I have something to look forward to everyday I see you. I don't really know the reasons why you are here but I'm glad that you are here… I think maybe we were fated to meet, don't you?"  
_

_Logan smiled, this time a smile that had no charm but sweetness behind it which made Rory think of a small child you just wanted to hug. "I think so, Rory, I think so… fated."**_

"Wow you are miles away."

Logan snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the voice, only to see Rory seated across his table with a smirk firmly in place.

"Sorry, been here long?"

Rory shook her head. "Not long, just long enough to place an order, strip naked, do a little dance on the table and get dressed again, made excellent tips. I'm thinking of not going back to school next semester, stay here and do that for a living."

Logan returned her grin at her sassy response - he liked that about her. Truth be told, he liked everything about her, but he really liked that he never knew what was going to come out of her mouth. The women in his life were always careful of what they would say for fear it would upset him and it did. He hated people who censored themselves for someone else, it was boring and useless. Being a Huntzberger had its rewards but it had its drawbacks also - he had to be very careful in dealing with anybody - he must be able to tell who was being real and who was just sucking up, was just one of them.

"A worthy life choice, but please do your little dance again, cause that is really something I would never want to miss." He said with a playful leer.

"Okay."

"Okay?" He asked, his eyes widening as he saw her get up from her seat. He started to choke a little as he laughed when she started to do a little dance that reminded him of the hokey-pokey. When she sat back down, he gave her a mournful sigh through his remaining chuckles. "I was hoping you would strip again."

"Sorry, you snooze… you lose." Rory said with laugh at the puppy-dog eyes that he gave her.

"Mean, making a guy all excited for nothing. So, what should we do today?"

"Well, I was reading about Las Ramblas," Rory said, taking out a small travel book from her purse.

"Between Plaza de Cataluña and the port… I know where it is."

"Yeah, I want to go to Palacio de Moya, it's said to have extraordinary wall-paintings." Rory said excitedly.

"They are beautiful." Logan agreed, smiling as he watched her practically bouncing in her seat.

"I want to see it before I leave in a few days." She said slowly, hating that she had to tell him that her grandmother had decided to leave Spain early and move onto France. Logan in the last week had become important to her. It amazed her that she had such a connection with someone who was pretty much a stranger. Hell, she didn't even know his last name, or where he was from other than he was American.

And yet, since that day when he sat down with her, she had been looking forward to every day that she would meet him at the café. She looked forward to the time they would spend together while he told her all he knew about the city. She wasn't still sure why he mattered but she didn't want to stop seeing him, she knew that much. She also knew there was nothing she could do; she couldn't very well tell her grandmother that she wanted to stay in one city the whole summer because she had met some boy in a café. She snorted softly, knowing that would go over so well with Emily Gilmore.

She would be calling Lorelai in a second, and that would just be heaven for her. Over the last two weeks, she had talked to her mother twice over the phone - both times it hadn't been her or Lorelai who prompted the conversation but Emily who had just passed her the phone - and, the conversations had been tense and forced. Anymore of that was the last thing she needed or wanted. What she wanted was Logan in her life a little longer.

"Leaving? You're going home already, it's only mid July." Logan asked, surprised. Surprised that she was leaving and surprised at the physical reaction he had to her announcement. His stomach dropped and he felt something like panic seep in him for a moment. He didn't want her to leave. Not yet. Not when he was just getting to know her.

"No." She said shaking her head. "Not to the States, to Paris. My grandmother wants to travel to different cities. Paris is next on her list. I think to Italy after that, Florence then Rome as our final destination, I believe."

Logan nodded and remained silent, thinking. He wanted to see her again; he needed to see her again.

Rory watched him, quiet herself. She wanted to see him again, she just didn't know if she should tell him. Finding the courage to voice her wishes was something she wasn't used to doing. But nevertheless, she told him. "I don't want to go, Logan… I have to go but I don't want to. I'd like to spend more time with you, like I told you yesterday… I needed something new and happy in my life and you came in… I don't want to lose that, not yet."

"Fated." Logan said softly. "I'm going to propose something, but I'm afraid I'll sound like a stalker again, however, I don't want to stop seeing you, either… so, I'll risk it."

"My stalker returns, goody." Rory said dryly, at which he raised an eyebrow clearly saying '_do you want to hear this or not'_. "Let's hear it then."

"We meet up in Paris." He simply said.

Rory looked at him, surprised at what he said and the tone in which he said it. He was serious. "Meet up in Paris."

"I'm using my father's jet to travel… I have no place to be and no one is expecting me anywhere until the end of summer when I go back to school. I was going to leave Spain eventually, anyway. I just had to pick my next spot… it seems Paris could be it, if you say yes."

Logan watched her as she considered his proposal, very much like the first day when he asked her if he could see her again. The ball was once again in her court and he could tell the second she made the decision. Her big blue eyes really didn't hide anything. He started to smile before she even spoke.

"Meet me in Paris."

**Review! It gives me a happy! :-D**


	3. Just Rory and Logan

**3. Just Rory and Logan**

Rory sat for the second day at Le Dauphin waiting for Logan. The small café with its rear dining room provided a dark, somewhat decaying refuge which caused people to linger over dinner or coffee and was very much a stark contrast to the traffic congested plaza just outside. Its location was perfect for Rory with its walking distance of not only her hotel, but some of the more important tourist spots in Paris, like the Louvre, just outside André Malraux Square. This time instead of ordering coffee, she ordered some of the regional wines the place had to offer.

_** "Rory, you're in Paris you can't just order coffee here, it's Paris... as in France. You have to order wine, it's like a rule."_

"_Really, so it's like… no shoe, no shirt, no ordering of the Paris wine then no service type of thing?" She asked sarcastically._

"_Yes, it's exactly like that." Logan answered seriously, cracking a smile at her tone._

"_Let's get something straight, Logan, coffee is the nectar from the gods… it is almighty, all powerful, and there is no wine in this country or the world for that matter that can ever compare. Even the worst coffee in the world is superior to any kind of drink." _

"_That's one mighty soapbox you got there, Rory." Logan said, laughing softly at her rant. She sent him a half-hearted glare but he could see the corners of her mouth tilting up. "So, does that mean no wine?" **_

Rory smiled. She could just imagine how smug he was going to be when he saw her with a glass of wine in her hand. He was cocky that one, always walking and talking with a slight swagger, something she had gotten use to seeing since coming into her grandparents world, something that always irritated her to no end. Logan, however, entertained her no matter how she fought it. He was arrogant, true enough, and just by looking at him you could tell that he had money to spare, yet, he was charming and friendly with everyone, nonetheless.

Charming, friendly and surprisingly understanding and accepting. What better proof did she need than the conversation that they had the day before?

_** "Here we are… the Tuileries Gardens, Milady." He said, making a grand gesture with one hand as the other tugged on hers, pulling her along._

"_God! I love this place, my mother and I came here a lot when we were in Paris." She said, distracted by the beautiful sight. "I would sit down and read and she would wonder around, trying to engage in conversation with her butchered French… people were scared."_

"_So, you've been to France with your mom?"_

_Rory nodded. "We back-packed through Europe after my high school graduation"_

"_Sounds nice." Logan said as he led her to a bench, watching her smile at the memory._

"_It was interesting… things are never boring with my mother." She said as she leaned into his side when he placed his arms around her shoulder, pulling her close. "You know I think we are getting too comfortable with each other."_

_Logan smiled at her dry tone. "Really? I hadn't noticed."_

_Rory just rolled her eyes at his response. _

"_You know it's funny that you brought that up cause something has been bothering me about our relationship."_

"_I wasn't aware we were in a relationship."_

"_You have something to say about everything, don't you?"_

"_Natural default. Continue." _

"_As I was saying," He started, clearing his throat in an exaggerated way, which she grinned at. "I find it a little odd that we've known each other for almost two weeks… two weeks that we've seen each other everyday… I've followed you from one country to another and yet I don't know much, if anything about you. All I know is that you are on vacation, your name is Rory and you are traveling with your grandmother."_

"_Maybe I'm just a figment of your imagination, a la Twilight Zone," She said jokingly, trying to break the way the conversation was going, he just looked at her seriously and she sighed, inwardly groaning. "I don't want the magic to break."_

"_Pardon?"_

"_Look, Logan, whatever we have right now is great… I'm having a great time with you, but as we've already discovered, we are both running from our worlds… I feel if we start talking about those worlds, this very special thing we have now will fade away."_

"_So, you don't want any particulars." He said slowly, trying to understand her._

_For a moment, Rory feared she had upset or hurt him, but she continued. She was not going to deceive him; she had to tell him exactly what she wanted so there wouldn't be any misunderstanding. "I just want us to be Logan and Rory while we are here, is that okay?"_

_Logan studied her for a long while. He understood what she was saying, not only would they not exchange any information about their real lives but also at the end of this trip they would never see each other again. If they didn't have information about each other, they couldn't very well continue whatever was going on between them. For a second he got mad, realizing that she didn't want more than a summer with him - his male ego could not take the heavy blow. But as he watched her play with her hands nervously, he couldn't help but sigh. She was right - they were both avoiding their worlds and that's the reason why they had connected - what was happening between them now was special and uncomplicated, unlike their real lives. Who was he to try to change what they both obviously needed. "So, no last names, no addresses of residences, no names of schools where we are enrolled at… nothing like that?"_

"_Yeah." She said softly, her eyes full of uncertainty._

"_Just Rory and Logan," He said as he smiled at her softly. "It has a nice ring to it… Rory and Logan… then it is."_

_Rory let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding._

_They both sat silently, taking in their beautiful surroundings, Logan took one of her hands and brought it to his lips, still looking around, and then, he started to talk again. "This place is really beautiful. It reminds me of Central Park in New York, ever been?"_

"_Yeah, it does…" Rory nodded absently, before she looked at him, startled. Logan grinned at her, the gleam in his eye back at full force. "Sneaky."_

"_Thank you." **_

"My, my, my, is that, no it can't be, it can't be wine you're drinking Rory, what happened to the nectar from the gods."

Rory looked up. "No need to be smug."

"Natural default." Logan said taking a seat, his brown eyes warming up as he took in her appearance - she had on a cute pale pink summer dress that was held up by thin straps, and her brown hair was up in a messy ponytail. "My god, you are adorable."

He watched as she blushed from the top of her hairline to her neck. "That blush of yours makes you cuter."

Rory cleared her throat. "I already had coffee at the hotel if you must know, and I ordered wine so I wouldn't get another 'this is Paris, Rory, Paris' comments from you."

Logan just grinned.

"Anyway, I know what I want to do today."

"Do tell."

"A Paris classic." She said defensively.

Logan raised an eyebrow at her tone. "Don't keep me in suspense."

"Notre Dame." She said, waiting for him so say something. "What? Are you not going to say that it's been done?"

"Why would I?" He asked inquiringly.

"That's what my grandmother said this morning when I told her where I was going."

"Your grandmother has never had me as a tour guide; besides, there's something I want you to check out after we go to the Cathedral."

"What?" she asked, curiosity already filling her eyes.

"Not telling."

"Mean." Rory pouted

"Thank you."

"I swear it doesn't matter how many time I see it, I'm still amazed by the grand scope of the Dame," Rory said as the walked out of the Cathedral, still glancing back to look up. "You think that there could be a hunchback up on the bell tower, like Quasi?"

"Quasi?"

Rory stopped in her tracks and stared at him in shock. "You have seen the Disney movie about the Notre Dame, right?"

"Uh…no?" he said, unsure.

"You live a sheltered life, I feel for you." She said honestly, a small smile playing on her lips as he frowned.

"I'm just not into cartoons."

Rory's eyes filled with pity as she watched him. "That is possibly the saddest thing I've ever heard."

Logan rolled his eyes at her tone. "Whatever. Do you want to know what I wanted to show you or not? Although, I'm not sure I should show you, seeing as you are mocking me."

Rory stopped. "I'll be good." She said with a smile as she leaned in a kiss on Logan's cheek.

Logan turned his face to her immediately as her lips grazed his face, the action causing his lips to come dangerously close to hers. For a moment, time and everything around them stopped. All Logan could see was Rory and how close they were. He physically had to stop himself from jumping her as he watched her slowly lick her lips. "Is that so?" He whispered.

"I'll try." She whispered back. "So, what's this you want to show me?"

"Ahh! Yes, now be prepared, because after I show you this, you will worship me." He teased as he started to walk away from the Cathedral.

"Please, I will only worship the person who will buy me the Folgers Company." She said sarcastically.

"I'll make a note of that." He quipped. "It's only a few blocks away."

"Lead the way."

"So, tell me about Quasi."

Holding hands, they slowly walked. Logan smiled as he watched and listened to her talk a mile a minute about the animated movie, going over every point of the movie as if it was the best movie in history. Listening to her, he realized that he wouldn't tire of the way she spoke anytime soon. He liked listening to her; he liked the way her eyes lit up about everything and anything as simple as a kid's movie.

"Here we are." He said waiting for her to see what he was showing her. "You love books, so I figured this was the best place to take you."

With a wide grin, Rory looked at the outdoor shop - there were stalls lined against the stone wall filled with books.

"It's called the Booksellers' Stalls... it's basically a book fair. You can find anything here… books, old prints, comics, maps… if it's written it's here. You like it?"

Rory looked at him, her grin still firmly in place as she hugged him quickly. "I love it, thank you for bringing me here."

Logan smiled softly at her. "You're welcome. Now go… go check things out, I know you're dying to."

Rory rolled her eyes at him teasingly and started to walk away.

"Rory," He said quickly, all of a sudden edgy.

"Yes?"

"Will you…" He paused and took her hands in his that were unexpectedly shaking. "Will you go out with me tonight?"

Rory looked at him a bit surprised - surprised that he asked and surprised that he was nervous. Logan didn't seem like the nervous type but she answered him anyway, smiling at the uncertain look on his face.

"Of course."

**A/N: Thank you for all the alerts and favorites of this story, it's really nice to be remembered, reviews give me a happy!**


	4. Books, Maids and First Dates

**4. ****Books, Maids and First Dates**

Logan walked into his hotel room a little after four. After spending over an hour at the Stalls, he had finally been able to drag Rory away from the books. Not that it mattered because by then Rory had already managed to buy half of the inventory from the stalls. Logan smiled as he remembered how happy both Rory and the seller had been at her spending. The vendor had become Rory's personal tour guide showing her the contents of each stall. At each, Rory had found something she loved and just had to have. By the end, the man had seemed to want to hug and kiss Rory as she handed in her money for the books, not even batting an eyelash at all her spending. All the while Logan had just stood there watching in awe at Rory's excitement. He liked to read as much as the next person but Rory seemed to have a real love affair with the written word; it seemed he had truly underestimated how much she would enjoy the Booksellers' Stalls.

_** "Let's go back to the gardens, it's early." Rory said happily, as she took the bags of books from the vendor, smiling as he told her in French to come back again and soon._

_Logan shook his head as he watched her practically skip in her excitement. Stopping her as he took her hand, he reached for her bags._

"_I can carry them, Logan."_

_Logan just rolled his eyes at her and took the bags. "I can't believe you bought so many books. You're going to need one luggage just for your books."_

_Rory just shrugged. "I couldn't help myself… you saw all the great stuff they had, it was like a shopping spree for me."_

_Logan stared at her with a bewildering smile. "You know most girls come to Paris to shop but for clothes not books."_

_Rory shrugged once more. "Who cares about clothes when you can find a first edition of 'Emma' for sale? Besides, I'm not like most girls."_

_Logan stopped, forcing her to do the same, "I'm beginning to get that."_

_Rory stopped as Logan continued to study her. She reminded herself to breathe as his brown eyes focused solely on her._

"_You're not like most girls at all," Logan started before a wide grin broke through. "You're weirder than most."_

_Rory's smile grew with his and she started to laugh. "You're catching on, Logan… you're catching on." **_

'_Not like most girls at all.'_ Logan snapped out of his thoughts as his cell phone chirped announcing he had a message. He always turned off his cell when he was out with Rory, not wanting his moments with her interrupted by the real world. Punching in his code, he listened to his first message. Rolling his eyes when his father's voice came on asking where he was now, to try not to get in trouble wherever he was as hard as it was for him to do so and that if he did, he wouldn't be bailing him out.

"This will not be Fiji all over again, Logan. Call your mother." His father said before hanging up.

"No good-byes, Dad? Manners," Logan said sarcastically to himself. "You sink one damn boat. Hell it wasn't even me."

He deleted the message and listened to the next one. At least he tried through all the commotion. This time he rolled his eyes with a small smile gracing his lips as he heard his drunken friends' hellos.

"Mate, we don't know where you are but you're missing some wild parties." He heard his friend through the slurring. "If you're done with 'Finding the inner Logan', your road to self-discovery… you should join us. We've decided to island-hop the rest of the summer… we're in St. Lucia and should be making our way to Martinique in a week, anyway Colin wants to say something."

Logan continued to listen as the phone was passed from one person to another. He could hear the girlish squeals and knew that Finn and Stephanie were at it again. He could hear Stephanie tell Finn to put her down when Colin came on the phone.

"Huntzberger, where the hell are you? Your father called to ask if you had met up with us after he called your house in Barcelona and the maid said you had left. Anyway, as Finn said we're in St. Lucia. You should join us, Logan… it's been over a month and we haven't heard from you. Steph and Finn are driving me crazy and I'm out-numbered as the voice of reason not that you would be any help there. Well, call us… we are on my father's boat. Hopefully, Finn won't sink this one, right? Whatever is keeping you in Europe must be damn good… later, man."

Logan shook his head and felt sorry for Colin because being the sensible one of the group was never easy and if he were there he really wouldn't be able to control their more crazy friends. Finn and Stephanie were forces of nature like hurricanes - they couldn't be stopped and everybody just had to wait to see the damage they left in their wake.

"Like my boat." Logan chuckled to himself. Deciding not to call them back, he turned his cell off once more. He wasn't ready to leave Europe anytime soon anyway.

Rory sat on the loveseat in the sitting room of her suite writing yet another postcard to Lane as her grandmother came in and out of her bedroom. She watched with an amused smile as the house cleaner whom her grandmother was talking to glared at Emily every time she turned away. Emily Gilmore in Europe was truly a sight to behold.

"Grandma, what's the problem?" She asked as she put the postcard down.

"I'm having dinner with some friends and I want to wear my black skirt and suit jacket. I had the hotel dry clean it, but it won't be ready until tomorrow… the uselessness of this hotel astounds me." Emily said, glaring at the poor maid before going back into her bedroom.

The helpless maid looked at her pitifully. Rory sighed and got up from her chair. "You can leave... I'll deal with my grandmother. Don't worry about it."

"Thank you, Miss." The woman said before making a mad dash out the room.

"Hell hath no fury like Emily Gilmore." She murmured to herself, ready to go into her grandmother's room when Emily came back out.

"Where did she go? I swear I am never staying here again, for years this has been my hotel but now…"

"Grandma." She said, stopping Emily's rant. "I sent her away. Now, how about I help you… instead of the black suit why don't you wear the navy blue one, it's much prettier."

Emily softened after a moment and nodded in agreement. "Very well, what are you doing tonight, you should come with me. I am meeting the Chase family, dear old friends… it's a shame their son isn't with them. Jordan and you would so hit it off."

Rory groaned inwardly at her grandmother words. "No, that's okay, Grandma, I was thinking of checking out Paris's nightlife."

Emily stopped and looked at Rory with a raised eyebrow.

Rory smiled at her as she took her seat once more. "Don't worry! I'll be careful, not be out too late and I'll have my cell if you want to call me… you have fun with your friends."

Emily watched her granddaughter a little longer. "Very well, but be careful and order one of the hotel's drivers. I don't want you on a bus or train at night."

"I will."

"Alright then, I'm going to get ready." Emily said, going to her bedroom once more but stopping at her doorway as she looked at Rory once more. "I'm glad you're having fun again, Rory."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked, a little surprised at the soft tone in her grandmother's voice.

"You seemed a little unhappy when we first got to Europe but for the last few weeks you seem happier, more at ease and I'm glad."

Rory smiled at her grandmother. "Thank you, Grandma, and thank you for bringing me with you."

Rory watched her grandmother walk away and turned to finish her postcard. _'I am happy.'_

_** "Happy?" Logan asked after having sat on one of the benches of the garden while Rory looked over her books, laughter lined his voice._

"_I am. Thank you very much." Rory responded smartly, a wide smile on her lips as she took out another book. "I love books."_

"_Really, I didn't know that." Logan said mockingly._

_Rory continued, not hearing him. "The feel, the fact that simple words can take you to places you've never been, see things you'll never get to see, experience things you never get to experience, well, without bail money that is, the smell…"_

"_The smell?" Logan asked, laughing this time. "You smell books… you're a sniffer?"_

"_I am not a sniffer." Rory said, glaring at the amused blond. "That's not even a word."_

"_That doesn't change the fact that you sniff books."_

"_Shut up." Rory said, blushing as Logan continued to laugh and started to stand. "Okay, I'm gone."_

_Logan stopped laughing long enough to wrap one arm around Rory's waist and pulled her back down. Rory, not being ready for Logan's movement, lost her balance and ended up on his lap. _

"_Logan." She said warningly._

"_Shh." He said, still chuckling at her disgruntled expression, kept his arm around her so she wouldn't move from his lap, with his other hand he brushed the stray hairs that had escaped her ponytail and made its way to her face. "I like that you love books enough to smell them, Rory… it's cute."_

"_You do?" Rory asked, looking at him suspiciously. His tone was sincere but the smirk playing on his lips told a different story._

"_Yes, I like it almost as much as I like you sitting on my lap." Logan said, laughing once again as she broke free and took the seat next to him._

_Taking her seat once more, she faced him with a mocked glare. "Behave."_

_Logan pouted dramatically. "Ruined my fun."_

"_Put that lip away, Mister… it won't work on me."_

_Logan smirked, leaning in closer to her. "You sure?"_

"_Yes, I am." Rory responded, narrowing her eyes at his skeptical expression. "You're used to getting your way, aren't you?"_

"_Regularly." _

"_I'm gong to enjoy bringing you down a notch, Logan."_

"_Is that so?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow. "You think you can?"_

"_Yes, I think so… you need humility."_

_Logan grinned. "Do your worst, Ror… do your worst." **_

Rory smiled as she got up from her seat and made her way to her room. Her grandmother had already left, leaving her to get ready in peace and allowing her mind to run free without her questioning Rory about the smile on her face. It was now 5:30 and Logan had told her that he would send a car to pick her up at 6: 40. Going into her room, she started to get ready.

_** "So, about tonight."_

"_Yes?" Rory asked with a smile._

"_I'll send a car to pick you up."_

"_Are you going to tell me where you're taking me?"_

_Logan smiled innocently. "Of course, I'll tell you… to dinner."_

_Rory rolled her eyes. "I figured that, but where?"_

"_Ahh! Well, that I can't tell you," Logan said, grinning. "I can say to dress nice, the food is great and the view will blow your mind away."_

"_Logan." Rory whined a little, pouting the same way he had done before. "Tell me."_

"_Put that lip away, Missy… it won't work on me." _

_Rory grinned, leaning the same way he had, bringing her lips close to his. "You sure about that?"_

"_No, I'm not sure." Logan answered honestly, watching her lips once again with the overwhelming urge to cover them with his own._

"_Ha!"_

"_But, I do know that this time around I won't break."_

"_Mean."_

"_Just be ready for a happy night." He said smiling_

_She smiled back. "Good enough." **_

After getting ready Rory had gone down in a simple black cocktail dress to wait in the lobby of her hotel where the manager had told her that her car was waiting. Getting in the car, she had tired to get the driver to tell her where they were going. The driver had laughed and said that Mr. Logan had warned him she would ask and not to say anything. Rory had laughed with the driver, amazed that Logan had been ready for her. After awhile they had pulled to the least expected place.

"The Eiffel Tower?" Rory asked as the driver held out his hand to help her out of the car. "Logan said dinner."

The man just laughed. "The Jules Verne, Miss, is on the second platform. It's supposed to be a great restaurant, one of the best in Paris."

Walking with her, he took her to the elevator lobby where a woman stood in a basic server's attire.

"Have a good night, Miss… the young lady will take you up." The driver said with a smile, tipping his hat.

Rory thanked him as she got into the elevator with the woman. The ride up was silent and Rory smoothed her hands over her dress, all of a sudden being nervous.

"You look fine, Miss." The woman said as the elevator came to a stop.

Rory shot her a grateful smile as they step into the restaurant. As she followed the woman she could feel eyes on her as she walked over to one of the more private sections of the elegant restaurant.

"You know how to go all out, Logan." Rory said with a smile as he got up from the table and pulled out her chair for her.

"You look very nice." Logan said softly as he took a seat himself.

Rory beamed at the compliment - when she realized where she was going she had feared that she wasn't dressed right. "Thank you… so do you."

Logan smiled as he watched her look around with the same amount of awe and curiosity she looked at everything that was new to her. "Surprised?"

"Yes, I had forgotten that there was a restaurant up here, so when we pulled up I was a little confused." Rory responded, grinned. "I thought you were going to make me climb every step."

"1652 steps to the top… I'm not that mean and beside I'm wearing leather shoes." Logan said with a mocked wince.

"Try heels."

"I'll be sure to do that."

Rory and Logan laughed, continuing with their banter, only pausing to order. Their food came, waiters buzzed by with wine and dessert menus, their conversation and laughter never dimming as they ate and drank. Once again remembering that they were just Rory and Logan, they told each other stories about themselves without going into specific. Rory talked of her mother, happy stories about how crazy she was, ignoring for the time being that she and her mother were still not speaking. She talked about her town and it quirks. Logan talked about his friends, about the crazy things they did and how trouble always followed wherever they went. Only after dessert did they notice that they had spent the last two hours in the restaurant. After paying the check, Logan led Rory back to the elevator. Expecting to go down, she was surprised when they went up.

Noticing Rory's expression, Logan smiled as he looked down at her. "You didn't think the night was over, right? I promised you great food, did I deliver?"

"Yes." Rory said slowly, smiling back at him. "Awesome food."

"Right, well, now I'm giving you the great view I promised… the top platform has a bar with the best view of the city. During the day, it's perfect to look out… at night it's not the best, but the trade off is that the stars look so close that it feels like you can reach out and touch them."

"Logan, are you a closet romantic?" Rory said teasingly.

"I'll never tell." Logan teased back.

"What would your friends say?" Rory asked as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Ha! They'd never believe you. I'm smooth not a hapless romantic." Logan said seriously, leading them to the side of the tower in front of the bar.

Rory laughed. "Well, it's a good thing I don't know them… I'm not sure I could keep that secret."

"They called today." Logan started as they stop at the railing, he let her step in front of him and he closed in behind her, placing his hands on the railing on each side of her. "Left a message while I was with you."

"What did they say?" Rory asked as she looked up at the night sky. "You're right… amazing view."

"You should never doubt what I say." Logan joked. "They want to know where I was and when I was joining them."

Rory turned around quickly, still caged in between the railing and Logan. "Are you leaving?"

Logan shook his head, smiling at her. "No, they're in St. Lucia. Paris seems much more stimulating for some reason."

"Really?" Rory asked with a shy smile.

"Really." He said, raising a hand to caress her cheek.

Rory took a small step forward and hugged Logan on impulse.

"What was that for?" Logan asked, bewildered as he closed his arms around her. "Not that I'm complaining… arms full of a beautiful girl not a bad thing at all."

Rory pulled back enough to look at Logan's face but not enough to step out of the embrace, not that it mattered since Logan hadn't removed his arms from around her. "It's been a wonderful date, I'm thanking you."

Logan pouted. "Just a hug, I feel cheated."

"You're very ungrateful, Logan." Rory teased.

"Over-privileged kids usually are… it's a curse we have to live with. We never appreciate the simple things." Logan said dryly.

"That must be it." Rory agreed in the same tone.

They stared at each other with matching smiles.

"I want to thank you, too"

"For what?" Rory asked.

"For being beautiful." He whispered before giving into his impulse. He placed his lips softly on hers giving her a chance to move back, when she didn't, he kissed her more firmly, kissing her deeply, tracing her lips with his tongue waiting for her to open her mouth. When she did, he groaned at the warmth of her mouth. Their tongues met causing both to moan. Logan only broke the kiss when breathing became a problem. "Thank you."

Rory gulped for air, a little lost. A kiss wasn't supposed to leave anyone this dizzy, was it? As she heard him thank her once more, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You are most welcome."

Still reeling from the kiss, she missed Logan grinning with male satisfaction at her response.

Rory walked into her hotel suite a little after midnight. To say she was walking on air would be the most corny platitude she could ever utter. It was also as close a description she could come up with to explain how she was feeling. She had dated of course, she was nineteen not a nun. Dean and she had dated, so had Jess and her. However, not even in the best of times with either of them could she remember being this giddy after a night with them.

'_And that boy could kiss.' _Rory grinned at the thought as she walked into her bedroom. She had always liked kissing - it had always been a fun activity with Dean and Jess. But if they were good at it, then Logan was majoring in it and going for his PhD. Rory stopped as the thought entered her head, she had thought of both her exes and yet no pain had sneaked up on her as it usually did when she thought of either.

Rory smiled softly and in impulse, she picked up the phone and started dialing before she could stop herself.

"Hello?" Said a cautious voice over the phone.

Rory paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Hi, Mom."


	5. You Offering?

**5****. ****You Offering?**

The morning light filtered through the window and Rory fought to stay in her dream state, knowing that it was useless. Soon her grandmother would come in and wake her so they could start their day. Italy seemed to be Emily Gilmore's country. Only a week in Florence and it seemed they had seen everything there was to see. Her grandmother had made a mad dash through the beautiful city, showing Rory everything and anything while talking a mile a minute about the 'Renaissance City', as she liked to call it. Rory smiled at the thought. Her grandmother's enthusiasm was amusing; unfortunately, it didn't leave her time or energy for anything else. Like Logan.

They had spent two more days in Paris after their date. Two days where she had spent only a few hours with him while her grandmother took her nap. The rest of the time was spent planning their leave.

_** Rory sighed as she looked around at her surroundings. Blues, reds, oranges, and sunny yellows everywhere; flowers bright in color and rich in scent. "I'm going to miss the gardens."_

_"Where to next?" Logan asked as he ran his fingers through her hair, playing with the silky threads. He could imagine the picture they posed. Rory with her head resting on his shoulder, his arm around her, her hand placed over his heart as they people-watched. They probably looked like a perfect young couple in love. As the thought crossed his mind, Logan realized it didn't make him want to bolt and that alone disturbed him. Logan laughed inwardly at the fact that he was freaked out by the thought that Rory and him as a loving couple didn't freak him out. _

_There had to be something in the European water that was making him act so out of character. Following a girl around Europe, nervousness over asking a girl out, warm and fuzzy feelings and a sense of utter peace by a simple smile or touch were not common Logan Huntzberger characteristics. However, as the thought entered his mind he reminded himself that in Europe with Rory, he was just Logan. Not Logan Huntzberger. When back at home, he would have to return to that Logan and just keep the memory of this time close and quiet. After all, in Connecticut's High Society there was no Rory and no room for 'just Logan'._

_"Florence," Rory answered as she watched him, carefully studying him. "You were miles away right now."_

_Logan just smiled at her. "It's nothing. Italy huh, wonderful… it's my favorite. Florence is a perfect city for romance._

_"I thought that was Paris." _

_"Florence, too," Logan said smiling down at her, still playing with a lock of her hair that he twirled and untwirled around his finger._

_"I don't know, Logan… Paris has been pretty good to us," Rory teased as she moved her head so she could look up at him while still resting on his shoulder. "You think you can outdo yourself?"_

_"You underestimate me." Logan brushed his lips over hers a couple of times, never really kissing her, letting her feel his words from his lips to hers. He smirked as he noticed her breathing become a bit shallow and tried to ignore the pounding he heard in his ears. "Trust me… Italy is going to be good to us."_

_"Tease," she whispered before she crushed her lips to his. **_

Rory smiled and could barely suppress a girlish squeal as she snuggled deeper into her covers. She didn't squeal, she was Rory Gilmore - focused, studious, serious, practical and sarcastic. She didn't squeal, but god, Logan made her want to. She was happy; for once in a very long time, simply content and at peace. Her grandmother had picked up on her change of demeanor and even her mother had noticed it over the phone.

_** "Rory?" The tone held caution and surprise that caused Rory to instantly tear up._

_"Hi, Mom, I've missed you."_

_There was a pause and Rory could hear her mother give a small sniffle. "I've missed you too, Kid."_

_"I'm so sorry I let you down, Mom," Rory whispered, holding back a sob as tears ran down her cheeks. "I messed up so badly and then I took it out on you… I'm so sorry." _

_"I know you are, Babe… I'm sorry I didn't make it any easier on you, either." Lorelai let out a watery chuckle. "Enough, tell me what you've been doing and if you've run away from Grandma yet." _

_"Not yet," Rory said, smiling before getting into it. She told Lorelai about Spain and all she had seen, about Paris, the Stalls and her grandmother's crazy demands of the hotel and tour guide staff everywhere they went. Through it all, she didn't breathe a word about Logan, not knowing how her mother would react to a boy discussion so soon after their reconciliation. Besides, as she had told Logan, it was about them while they were together, nobody else. She just knew that after the perfect night she had, she had to fix the thing that was still hurting her most of all. She hated fighting with her mother; she hated feeling weird and not being able to talk to her. Now with this first step, she and her mother could slowly go back to the way they were. She could have her best friend back. "I swear the hotel staff is more afraid of her than her maids at home."_

_Lorelai laughed with her. "That must be a sight to see."_

_"It is. Anyway, I better go, I need sleep. Grandma said we're leaving Paris in a few days so I'm sure she'll want to fit in as much as possible."_

_"I'm sure, too. Hey, Rory…it sounds like you're having a good time," Lorelai said softly._

_"I am," Rory said, smiling as she thought back to the evening's events. "I'm happy, Mom."_

_"I'm glad, Kid, I'm glad." ** _

She was happy. She had Logan to thank for that. He put a smile on her face that at the beginning of the summer she hadn't thought was possible. Though because of past sins, she knew she didn't deserve this joy. She knew she would be a fool not to enjoy it while it lasted - not that it would last that long, the summer was ending. One more week in Florence, two in Rome and then home - home where Logan didn't exist and responsibility, school and past mistakes waited for her. Rory frowned at the thought and was glad for the interruption as her grandmother knocked on her door.

"I'm up, Grandma," Rory said as she sat up on her bed. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Shopping," Emily said smiling, but let out a sigh as she caught her granddaughter's wince. "Or, I can go shopping alone today and you can wander. You came with me yesterday, anyway."

Rory breathed out gratefully. Shopping was like an Olympic event for her grandmother, and like the Olympics, Rory needed four years to be ready to do it again. "Thanks, Grandma."

"Very well, I'm off. Don't stay in bed too long… it's a beautiful day, enjoy it."

Rory waited for her grandmother to leave before picking up the phone, calling down to the front desk and asking them to connect her to the Montebello Splendid Hotel. As she waited for someone to answer her call, she chuckled, remembering the time when Logan had told her where he was staying.

_** "Here, since you said you're going to be busy once you get to Florence, here's the information for my hotel," Logan said, pulling out a card._

_"Montebello Splendid, Room 610," Rory read the card out loud._

_"Yeah, my family always stays there when in Florence."_

_Rory smirked. "And I need your room number, why? Hoping I'd stop by for a nightcap?"_

_Logan grinned at her words. "You thinking about it?"_

_Rory just raised an eyebrow and waited. _

_Logan chuckled at her expression. "I'm giving you my room number so you can call me and tell me when we can see each other. When you call and ask for Logan they will say 'Logan who?' No last names remember, Rory… your rule."_

_Rory just narrowed her eyes a bit, faking a glare. "Okay."_

_"I wouldn't mind if you stopped by for a nightcap, though," he finished with a grin. **_

"Hello?"

"What are you doing today?" Rory asked, already smiling as she heard his sleepy tone.

She could practically hear his smile through the phone. "You tell me, what are we doing?"

"Want to meet outside my hotel in an hour, we could take it from there?" She asked.

"You still at Villa La Vedetta, or did your grandmother not like the pillow arrangement and move to another hotel?" He teased, having heard her stories about her crazy grandmother.

"The pillows are fine," Rory laughed. "She left the hotel without a complaint. She's shopping again so it will keep her blissful and busy for hours."

"Then, I'll see you in an hour."

Rory stepped out of the elevator, giving a smile to the concierge as she made her way to the lobby. She stopped short when she noticed the fair-haired man sitting on one of the lobby's posh leather couches. Walking up to him with a smile, she waited for him to acknowledge her. She could barely suppress her blush as he slowly lowered his dark sunglasses, letting out a low whistle of appreciation once he was done checking her out.

"Good morning, Beautiful," he said getting up from his seat, already taking her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. He watched as she smiled at his action, making her even prettier than she already was. She was wearing a summer dress with flower patterns, simple in style but the dress enhanced the natural beauty and grace of Rory. Her hair was down, cascading to her shoulders in waves as opposed to the straight way she usually had it, and her face was clear of make-up except for a small amount of lip gloss. Studying her appearance, he realized that while he was used to girls dressed, armed and ready for seduction, Rory's sweetness and simplicity held much more pull, had more punch.

"More like noon, Logan," Rory said smiling.

"Morning, noon, evening…" Logan said smirking, "… you're still beautiful."

"Thank you," Rory responded and this time, did blush. "But you wouldn't say that if you saw me first thing in the morning while I'm still in bed."

Logan gave her a look that reeked of innuendo, eyes twinkling, mouth morphed in a wickedly sinful smile. "Are you offering?"

Rory looked him over this time. For the first time since she had met him, he was in jeans but by just looking at them she could tell they were those unbelievably expensive ones that were designed to make girls drool. And then, added to Logan's outfit was his white, lightweight sweater that seemed to be specifically tailored to fit and hug Logan's body, clinging in all the right places, giving the desired effect he wanted to convey. She would need a bib pretty soon. Rory studied his face, watching his smile grow in pre-victory. He liked flustering her which he enjoyed too damn much for her taste. Slowly she returned his smile - a smile that widened when he blinked in slight confusion.

"Maybe."


	6. Two or Three Buttons

**A/N: As always thanks to my beta, and thanks to all who are alerting and reviewing. **

**6. Two or Three Buttons**

Rory walked into her hotel room a little after five, calling out for her grandmother. Not getting an answer, she just smiled. Between her books, souvenirs, import CD's for Lane, and, her grandmother's mad clothes and crystal purchases, they were going to need extra room on the plane once they left. Going straight into the bathroom, she took off her clothes and stepped into the shower. After spending all day with Logan, it seemed they would be spending the better part of the night together, too. Thinking back to how the day had gone, she couldn't help but laugh at how their day had started.

_** "The expression of your face right now is priceless; I wish I could take a picture," Rory said, grinning with her eyes filled with suppressed laughter. Taking his hand, she practically dragged him out of the hotel._

"_Come on, let's go."_

"_You're not very nice, Rory. You say something like that and then expect me to just continue like nothing happened… I should at least have time to fantasize," Logan said with a playful pout._

"_No time for us to play in the gutter of your mind, Logan."_

"_You might enjoy it."_

"_I'm sure I would," Rory answered with a slight eye roll, never losing her wide smile._

_Logan broke free from the hold she had over his hand and taking advantage of the fact that he was still behind her, wrapped both arms around her waist. Stopping her from moving forward, he grazed the shell of her ear and whispered mischievously, "I know you would. I, my Dear, happen to have a very active imagination."_

_Rory just chuckled, silently amazed that she, Rory Gilmore, was participating in an obvious sexual banter and there was not even a hint of a blush. She could practically picture Lorelai cackling with glee. "Mom would be proud," she mumbled, smirking._

"_What would she be proud of?" _

_Rory turned around to face Logan, still in his arms. "You don't want to know. Now where to?"_

"_You tell me," he said smiling, unwrapping his arms from her so they could begin walking. "Academy Gallery?"_

_Rory shook her head. "Nope, I've already said hello to David, and no more museums. My grandmother has already made me go to the Uffizi, Bardini Museum, Vecchio Palace and so forth… I have museum and information overload."_

"_Well then, let's wander, the Academy is all well and good but you should also enjoy some of the simple pleasures of Florence," Logan said, taking her hand. "Like coffee, people-watching, shopping."_

_Rory laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe you should have gone with my grandmother, she went shopping today."_

_Ignoring her laughter, Logan continued, "And soccer, you can learn so much about Italy by going to a soccer game."_

"_I'm not a sports girl, Logan," Rory answered dryly. "I tried golf once with my grandfather… you should have seen the grounds of the club when I was done."_

_Logan shook his head, smiling at the image of Rory decked out in golfing attire. "It doesn't matter... you can get a lot of insight about Italian culture by watching a game. Calcio Fever. It gives the word 'fan' a whole new meaning."_

_Rory narrowed her eyes as he continued to talk about the sport that was apparently a form of religion in Italy. "Are you taking me to a game?"_

"_Unfortunately the local team only plays from September to May," Logan explained._

"_So, no game?" she asked, still wary._

"_No game," he agreed, smirking at the sigh of relief she let out. Obviously she considered sports some form of torture._

"_But we are going somewhere?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Are you going to tell me where?"_

"_No."_

"_Is there anything hotter than a monosyllabic man?" she asked sardonically._

_Logan looked at her seriously, giving her question real thought before answering with a slight leer._

"_Maybe" ** _

Stepping out of the shower, she draped a towel around herself and walked into her bedroom. _Maybe_. It seemed the word was dangerous around them, Rory thought smiling. After his _maybe_, she had continued walking the streets of Florence, pouting, whining, and begging him to tell her where they were going. Logan had ignored her displeasure and just rattled off random facts about the city. He would flash a smile every once in while that told her he was enjoying both her curiosity and her annoyance. Finally, after a long walk that Rory had thought to be aimless, he had stopped, spreading his arms dramatically, making a show of it. Staring at the entrance of what was obviously a park, she had finally asked what was so special about it. Shaking his head in a pitying way he had answered her.

_** "This, Rory, is_ _Parco della Cascine."_

_Rory rolled her eyes. "I can read the sign before me, Logan… I get that it's a park, I just don't understand the big mystery you've made out of this little field trip if it's just a park."_

_Logan smiled and crooked his finger at her, motioning for her to get closer, as if he was about to reveal a great secret. "It's not just a park. But the reason I didn't say anything on the way over was to get a rise out of you… patience is not your forte and your curiosity amuse me."_

_Rory narrowed her eyes and hit him backhanded across his stomach. Giving her a fake wince, he wagged his finger at her. "Tut-tut, violence is never the answer."_

"_Miscreant," Rory grumbled._

_Catching what she said, Logan quickly started to chuckle at her choice of word and at her expression. Deciding that he had provoked her enough for the day, he smiled at her and pulled her softly into his arms, circling her small waist with his hands to make sure she couldn't break the hold. She looked at him with a scowl still firmly in place, but as he looked into her eyes, he saw that she was already softening. Thinking back to the moment when he had first seen her, he realized how right he was in thinking that her eyes gave her away every time. _

_Back then her eyes had showed sadness, while these days they shined brightly with laughter and happiness. It pleased him more than it should that he was glad he helped with that. Knowing her presently, he realized that as much as he thought her eyes were beautiful then, they were nothing compared to now. Back then, they were dulled with pain while now they had life in them. As he continued to watch her, her expression changed from annoyance to awareness, and he could only imagine what she saw in his own eyes, in his own face. Obviously finding something she liked, she smiled at him softly, reaching on her tiptoes to place an equally soft kiss on his lips. _

"_So what's special about this park?"_

"_Beautiful scenery, quirky flea market stands, interesting pick up games…"_

_Rory groaned dramatically. "Not sports again."_

"_And…" Logan continued loudly to drown out her protests. "Gelatos." _

_Rory visibly lit up at the mention of food and started making her way into the park with a bounce in her step. "Now you're talking, Logan."_

"_You know, they say food is the way to a man's heart, but I'm starting to think it applies to you, too."_

"_Smart man." **_

'_Smart man indeed_.' Rory thought as she looked through the closet, trying to decide what to wear. Logan seemed to know what to do and say to keep her happy and excited about what would happen next. The boy was charming and collected, always leaving her guessing. And for the first time in a long time, Rory realized that she liked it - she liked not knowing what would happen next with Logan. Just knowing that she would enjoy herself, was enough. Like today, walking around with ice cream in hand, they watched people walk around, stopping every once in a while to see part of a game. They looked at vendors and their goods and watched street performers who danced and acted, amusing the masses. Upon leaving the park he had asked if she wanted to go out later on in the evening. Despite knowing she would end up going anyway, she still couldn't help but ask where.

_** "Twice in one day, I'm honored," she said teasingly._

"_You should be," he answered seriously._

_Rory shook her head at his tone. "Your arrogance astounds. So, where are you taking me?"_

_Logan smirked. "You know, I'm not telling you… why do you even ask?"_

"_Determination is a good trait to have," she answered defensively. _

"_What about pig-headedness, is that a good trait?" he asked, laughing as he watched her stiffen up, already in 'debate mode' as he'd come to call it._

"_I don't know," Rory started slowly, raising an eyebrow at him in question. "Do you consider that your best trait?"_

_Logan didn't have a response but as he watched her, she could see the laughter in his eyes. Knowing he wasn't going to answer her and that baiting him wouldn't help, she sighed and asked him if she could at least know what to wear._

"_Casual, jeans is fine," he said, grinning as she gave up. **_

Looking at herself with a critical eye, she wondered if the outfit would pass the test. Going with what Logan had said, she had picked one of her darker jeans that rode low and a purple blouse with buttons that ended above her belly-button, leaving said belly-button for the world to see. It had been one of her mother's picks. Not one for showing skin, she was a little worried about it. As she looked at it she tried to decide how many buttons from the top she should leave open. It wouldn't make sense for her to be closed up to her neck if her stomach was showing. As she tried to decide, she remembered an episode of 'Will and Grace' she and her mother had watched. _'Two or three buttons, it's the difference between 'I'll call you' and 'I'll wake you'.' _

Smiling, she left two buttons open. "Like mom says, all the answers to the world's questions can be found on T.V."

Checking her watch, she realized that she needed to be heading downstairs to the lobby. Grabbing her purse and her light jacket, she stopped at the sitting room to leave her grandmother a note, before walking out of their suite.

Logan sat once again on the couch he had been on in the morning, waiting for Rory to come down. After spending the day with her he had gone back to his hotel to shower and change. Checking his messages, he had found another from his friends asking once again where the hell he was and why he had a cell if he never had it on. Each friend had taken their turn telling him what was happening with them and threatening bodily harm if he did not answer soon.

Colin had complained about Finn and Stephanie and their antics; Finn had complained that Colin was a stick in the mud and that Stephanie was a flirt. Stephanie had also complained about Colin's lack of fun and Finn's skirt chasing. Which essentially translated to Finn and Stephanie were trying to make each other jealous, a standard part of their bizarre mating ritual, and Colin was aggravated that he was alone to deal with it.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he watched as Rory made her way over to him. Checking her out, his eyes warmed in male appreciation. It was going to be a good night.

**A/N:** **Like the only child I am I ask for more reviews! But like the polite only child I am I also say 'please…and thank you. :-) **


	7. Taking a Risk

**7. Taking a Risk**

**_ Rory looked around the dimly lit club, taking in her surroundings. Patrons, all in their early twenties, sat by high round tables on stools that were everywhere. There was a spiral staircase that led up to another level, a medium-sized wooden dance floor, and other sections that were carpeted in a deep red color. In fact, the whole place was like a canvas painted with various shades of the color - from blood red to a deep wine - that gave the place a sultry feel that Rory could not help but admire. "What is this place?"_

_Logan guided her through the crowd of people to a corner table near the stairs. "It's called the Red Garter. The red I get. It's a sort of speakeasy and the other level is a small theater for theatre shows, bands, poetry reading, and also, old black and white movies."_

_Rory shook her head as she took a seat. "I'm amazed that everywhere we go you find places like this."_

_"Travel enough and you find things not always in the tour book," Logan said, smiling at her as he flagged down one of the waiters to place their order. Rory continued to look around, watching a couple dancing to an old blues song. _

_"I like it," Rory smiled, taking a sip of the drink that was placed in front of her._

_"Good, you should enjoy your last night in Florence."_

_Rory nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow night, Rome for a few days and then…"_

_"Home," Logan finished for her with a soft smile. "Amazing how fast the summer has gone."_

_Rory felt a lump trapped in her throat that stopped her from answering; her vision clouded for a moment. Home. A little over a week and she would be in Stars Hollow. A place where Logan did not exist. Once home, their summer would be what they had agreed it would be in the first place: an escape and a beautiful memory of a happy world they created for themselves. At home, she would have to be practical Rory - a Rory who didn't hook-up with a stranger for a few months in a different country. Who even knew what the real-world Logan was like? More than once, he had expressed that he too was escaping his world for a while with her. Once in his reality, he would go back to being whatever version of Logan he was there - a Logan he didn't always seem to like. _

_Sensing her troubled thoughts, he placed his hand on hers. Noticing how well they fit, she looked at him. Not bothering to hide it, she let a tear make its way down her face. Using his other hand, Logan wiped the tear away as he shook his head softly at her, telling her silently not to cry. His eyes full of understanding and warmth, he closed the gap between them and brushed his lips over hers, taking his time in tasting her, making the need for full contact agonizing. _

_"No tears, Sweetheart," he whispered against her lips. "Let's dance."_

_Still not being able to talk without cracking, she gave him a watery smile and allowed him to pull her from her chair. Leading her to the dance floor, he wrapped his arms snugly around her waist while she wrapped hers around his neck. Placing his forehead against hers, Logan closed his eyes as they swayed to the soft soulful rhythm. He smiled when he felt her run her hands through the soft hairs at his neck, mimicking the same action he was doing as he made small circles on the bare skin that was exposed between her top and her jeans that seemed to be painted on. "I love this outfit, Rory. Very sexy," he whispered teasingly as they continued to dance_

_"You're trying to fluster me, but it won't work," she whispered back, grateful that he was being playful, allowing her to joke back._

_"That sounds like a dare," he answered slyly as he pulled her closer. "I could if I wanted to."_

_"Whatever floats your boat," Rory quipped, grinning as she watched him smile himself. It amazed her how his smiles were contagious. _

_"Be good or you won't get your present." _

_Rory raised both eyebrows and looked at him eagerly._

_Logan laughed at her expression and took her hand to turn her in a spin. As he took her back into his arms he continued to tease her. "I've got your attention now, don't I?"_

_Rory pouted as she let out an impatient grumble. "Logan."_

_"Your present is in my pocket."_

_Rory glanced at him with a skeptical look in her eyes as her lips turned up slightly in a teasing manner. "This gift isn't one that turns into a 'Is that a surfboard in your pocket or are you just happy to see me' type of joke, is it?"_

_Logan narrowed his eyes at her as he guided them off the dance floor, back to their table. "Pervert."_

_Rory laughed as she sat down and studied his expression. As she watched him, she started to laugh even more. She couldn't be 100% positive because of the lighting, but she was pretty sure she was right. "You're blushing."_

_"I am not."_

_Rory snickered at his put-out tone. "It's cute."_

_"You're about to lose said gift, Rory."_

_Hearing his warning tone, Rory tried to stop laughing. "I'll be good."_

_"You're still smiling," Logan whined. However, he couldn't help but smile as he watched her eyes fill with mirth. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small box, placed it on the table, and waited silently for her to open it._

_All joking from Rory stopped the moment he placed the box on the table. She noticed that it was a small jewelry box with a tiny French logo on it. She looked at him curiously._

_"I bought it the day I asked you out in France, while you looked at books," he answered her unspoken question. "Open it, Rory." _

_Taking the box in shaking hands, Rory opened the lid, her eyes widening as she took the delicate object out - a beautiful platinum bracelet with a small heart and key charms which had diamond overlays. It was simple, elegant and knowing Logan enough, worth a lot of money._

_As she started to shake her head, he cut her off, taking the bracelet and opening the clasp. "It's yours, Rory, I bought it for you and I'm not taking it back."_

_As she looked at him, she saw how uneasy he was, just as nervous as when he first asked her out, something she knew he wasn't used to feeling. "It's beautiful, Logan."_

_"So are you." _

_Smiling, she extended her right hand. He smiled back at her as he put it on. "I love it, I won't take it off."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Promise," she whispered before kissing him. _**

"Are you sure you didn't forget anything?"

Rory didn't bother to turn to her grandmother to answer; instead, she just nodded and continued to look out the window at the clear blue sky.

"I can't believe we'll be back in Hartford in a few hours," her grandmother continued, not noticing Rory's melancholy. "It feels like so much has changed since we left."

Rory closed her eyes as her grandmother talked on. So much had changed and yet some things remained the same. She still ran. She only hoped he could forgive her for it.

_** "What are you thinking about?"_

_Rory sighed as Logan's lips grazed the shell of her ear. Leaning back against him she looked around, smiling at the people who were walking about and the children playing. "The last night we spend in Florence together."_

_"It was a nice night, music, dancing, drinking, and laughing."_

_"Yes, it was," she agreed as she closed her eyes. "I like it here, too."_

_"You sure you don't want to be somewhere else? You leave Rome tomorrow, no last second sight-seeing?" _

_Rory shook her head as she played with a patch of grass. "Nope, we've seen everything I wanted to see, the Coliseum, the Catacombs, the ruins."_

_"I can't believe your grandmother said the ruins had changed," Logan said laughing, remembering their first day in Rome and Rory going on about her grandmother and their room._

_"She says a pillar moved," Rory laughed. "Today is all about us sitting in this park and enjoying the view."_

_"Sitting on the grass," Logan observed._

_"Don't pout, it's not becoming."_

_"I don't pout."_

_Rory coughed to cover a laugh as Logan started to argue, only to be cut off. "You're ringing."_

_"Impossible."_

_"Why, no phone?"_

_"Of course, I have a phone, I just keep it turned off when I'm with you," Logan replied taking out his cell phone, missing the smile Rory sent his way._

_"Well, answer it."_

_"The ID is blocked… it could be my dad or my friends."_

_"So?"_

_"Rory time is a cell-phone-answering-free zone," Logan said seriously, trying to sidetrack her._

_Rory rolled her eyes at him, taking the phone away and flipping it open before he even had a chance to react. "Hello?"_

_"Oh…Hello," said a male voice that was obviously surprised. "Is Logan there?"_

_Rory grinned as Logan tried to take the phone from her. "Who is this?"_

_"Colin." _

_"Just a moment." Rory gave Logan a cheeky grin as she passed the phone. "It's Colin."_

_Logan shook his head, stifling a groan. He could only imagine all the questions his friend would ask and what he would share with their other friends once he got off the phone. Taking the phone, he cut Colin off before the inquisition could start. "She's a friend… yes, she's as hot as she sounds… no, I haven't slept with her, and… no, I'm not telling you anything else, now what do you want."_

_"Nice to hear from you too, Logan, how have I been? Why thank you for asking, I've been just great with the annoying pair, just dandy."_

_Logan rolled his eyes once more as he heard Colin's sarcastic tone and Rory let out a chortle beside him. "What did Stephanie and Finn do this time?"_

_"Drank so much that they forgot what they were doing and kissed. Now that the liquor has run its course, they are ignoring each other. They aren't saying any word other than to insult each other and irritate me. Please tell me again how I got stuck babysitting my ex and my friend this summer without anyone here to prevent me from physically hurting them when they get stupid?"_

_"You drew the short straw."_

_"Lovely… so, who's the girl?"_

_"Goodbye, Colin."_

_"Logan, don't hang up," Colin whined. "I'm bored, tell me!" _

_"I'll see you and everyone else in a few days," Logan said as he closed his phone._

_"That wasn't very nice hanging up on him," Rory said mockingly. "What would Miss Manners say?"_

_"That we shouldn't answer the phone when my friends are calling," Logan shot back._

_"So, what was wrong with him?"_

_Logan sighed as started to explain some of the complexities of his circle of friends. Stephanie, Finn, their attraction to each other and guilt over Colin, Colin's role as the gatekeeper of the group; it was all a long story and rooted to years of history. "All in all Colin wants them to just go for it, but can't say it out loud cause while we all know about Steph and Finn, they haven't said it out loud themselves and they won't cause that would make it all too real. They're both risk takers but this is one thing they won't risk. Did that make sense at all?"_

_"It does," Rory answered quietly before kissing him softly. Taking her time, she slowly ran her tongue over his bottom lip, smiling into the kiss when he took a deep audible breath opening his mouth enough to let her in. _

_"You always taste like coffee and chocolate. I like it," he whispered when they broke the kiss, in need of oxygen._

_"I know what I want to do," she whispered back._

_"What?"_

_"Take a risk." **_

Logan didn't have to open his eyes to know that she was gone. He had known that she would leave before he woke up the second they walked into his hotel room. He had hope that she would prove him wrong. As he stripped away her clothes slowly, kissing his way down her body, he knew deep down that she would leave. With that knowledge he had kissed every inch of her at least twice, leaving small marks in his wake, enjoying every word whispered, every moan he got out of her, every giggle when he found an especially funny spot.

_"You sure?" he asked for the third time since they had lain on his bed. "This changes everything."_

_"I'm sure," Rory answered, looking up at him through lust-clouded eyes. When she saw that he was still hesitant, she gave him a teasing smile. "We're in bed, we're naked, and you're on top of me. I'm sure." Feeling empowered, she lifted her hip to come in more contact with him. She smiled as he slowly pushed his way into her, masking his groan as he kissed her neck._

_"Take a risk."**_

Rolling to his side, Logan noticed a piece of paper placed on the pillow. Sighing he picked it up.

_I couldn't have said goodbye to you._

_Thank you for a perfect, beautiful summer, Logan._

_Love, Rory_

_I'm sorry._

This changed everything, and yet to the outside world, it changed nothing. Getting out of bed, Logan got on the phone. The summer was over and it was time to go home.

**Review please.**


	8. Home Sweet… Something

**A/N: As always thanks to my wonder beta who takes the time to read my rambles and is always supportive. Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**8. Home Sweet… Something**

Everything was…the same.

The town was still small, picturesque, safe and warm. The people were still loud, cheerful and gossipy. Babette's gnomes were still on her lawn; the house was unchanged, the Jeep parked in the same place. Standing in front of her house, Rory stared at it in wonderment. Everything was as she had left two and half months ago; everything was as it should be. Nothing was different. But she felt it should be. She was different; shouldn't the outside world be different too; shouldn't she see everything differently now? The answer seemed to be apparently _no_.

_** "This is the wonderful thing about Europe." _

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Everything's different here… things mix, old and new, tradition and modern. Things are never the same. It's the reason why I love coming. It's different and home…"_

"_It's all the same. I know what you mean. I mean, I love where I live, I love my home, but it never changes, no matter how much you change, it doesn't. It's nice to know there will always be a place you recognize, but it can also be sad that it doesn't grow with you."_

"_Exactly" **_

"Hey, Kid."

Rory took a step forward as her mother came out the door. Thinking back to the last time she and her mother had seen each other, she came to a stop in front of her. Overwhelmed by the memories and the guilt, all she wanted to do was run - run away, run into her mother's arms, all she wanted was to run. By her mother's soft warm smile, she could tell that her mother understood her conflicted emotions. Not saying a word, Lorelai took the last step and circled her arms around her daughter, holding her for dear life. "It's okay."

_** "What are you running away from, Rory?"_

"_Logan…"_

"_Without going into specifics, no names or dates, what or who hurt you? I just want to know more."_

"_I think the better question is who I hurt."_

"_You?"_

"_Me."_

"_Okay, who did you hurt?"_

"_Everybody, but mostly myself."_

"_How?"_

"_By being scared." **_

Rory felt the left-over tension she had been feeling from the beginning of the summer leave her body as she returned her mother's hug. "I love you, Mom."

Lorelai pulled back, taking Rory's face in her hands, looking at her carefully. Big blue eyes which were cloudy with tears, but also with a small smile and expression that appeared for the most part, at peace. Very different from the girl who had been defensive and miserable when she left. Smiling, she placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "I love you, too, Babe."

"You'd think she went off to Nam… honestly, Lorelai."

Lorelai broke away from Rory, rolling her eyes in jest. Walking over to her mother, she raised her arms to hug her too, only to have Emily back away.

"Plane smell,"

"Mom, I want to go to Luke's and say hi to Lane," Rory said as she made her way to the car to grab her bags.

"Rory, you don't touch bags," an exasperated Emily said, shaking her head.

Rory grinned at her grandmother's tone. "Right, I forgot."

"Hon, go on, I'll catch up soon."

Rory nodded in agreement, walking up to her grandmother to give her a hug before she could back away. "Thank you, Grandma, I had a wonderful time."

"I'm glad."

Emily and Lorelai watched as the youngest Gilmore girl walked away, both studying the young girl. "She's much better than when we left."

"I'm happy she had a good time. Europe seems to have done her some good. Thank you, Mom."

"You're welcome, Lorelai."

xxx

"Welcome back, Mr. Huntzberger, let me take these you for."

"Thank you, Frank," Logan answered while passing his luggage to the man.

"Where to?" Frank asked once inside the limo.

"I guess I have to make an appearance at the house," Logan started, already cringing at the idea. "So, let's head there first."

"Very well, Sir," answered the driver, pulling out of the airport.

Logan let the divider go up, giving him a moment alone. Back in Hartford, Rome seemed like a lifetime ago already, Rory seemed like a lifetime ago. Sighing, he reached over to the stocked mini bar. If he was going to have to deal with these thoughts and the Huntzberger clan, he was going to need one hell of a buzz.

xxx

"So, tell me everything."

Rory smiled as her excited friend sat down, placing a plate of fries in front of her. "It was fun."

Lane rolled her eyes at Rory, shaking her head. "You spend over two months in some of the most beautiful cities in the world and all you have to say is it was fun. I want more."

Rory laughed at the impatient tone. "I sent you post cards and I brought you gifts."

"Gifts?" Lane asked, perking up.

"Some very good imported CDs are in your near future," Rory said teasingly.

"Really?" Lane asked, her eyes lighting up. Getting up from her chair, she gave Rory a tight hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lane sat back down, watching her friend as they ate. There was something different about  
Rory. She was definitely not the sad and guilt-ridden girl who had seemed desperate to leave Stars Hollow. The Rory who sat before her looked at peace, almost content, except for the eyes that looked a bit melancholy. Looking at her some more, Lane realized that her friend was better, but she was also hiding something. "So, what happened?"

"Excuse me?"

"Something's different about you."

Rory looked down, considering her words, knowing she was dying to talk to someone about Logan. She had to give voice to her time with him or else she was going to start to think that she had dreamt up every wonderful moment. She couldn't tell her mom, at least not yet, when their relationship was slowly healing. Bringing another guy into the mix would only complicate things again. Taking a deep breath, she gave her friend a small smile. "I met someone in Europe."

xxx

Logan looked at the house as he made his way up the marble steps to the big mahogany door.

Cold.

_** "Same question, Mr. Logan."_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_You didn't think you could ask something without me countering it, right?"_

"_Of course not."_

"_Smart man. So, Logan, what are you running away from?"_

"_The norm that is my life… what is expected from me, what people see me as not that I blame them since that's the only part I let them see… my world."_

"_And what is your world like Logan?"_

"_Cold." **_

Everything about the Huntzberger estate was exactly that - cold. A beautiful mansion that was decorated with priceless works of art and expensive, imported furniture that gave the place an aura of grandeur; but, might as well be an opulent mausoleum inhabited by cold-hearted persons who were emotionally dead.

A cynical smile made its way to his face at the thought, and a big part of him wanted to run as fast as his legs could carry him. Away from the house; away from the world he had not missed, not even once, while with Rory.

Instead of walking away, however, he did the only thing he could - he opened the door.

_** "We'll be going home soon."_

"_Yes, we will."_

"_We can't run forever."_

"_No, we can't."_

"_But if we could, Rory…"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_I would have liked it to be with you." **_

"Welcome home, Logan."

"Hello, Mom."

xxx

"Wow."

Rory chuckled at Lane's astonished expression. During her recount of her summer romance and experience, Lane had stayed quiet, taking everything in, only speaking up to interrupt with two or three lines of 'Summer lovin', which both had shuddered at.

"So, this Logan is why you're so changed?"

"I'm not that changed," Rory answered with a frown.

Lane smiled at her look. "Yeah, you are. What I don't understand is why you left without a word."

"Logan and I won't work here. It was only for the summer, we both agreed," Rory answered.

"You don't know that."

"I don't even know what state he's from. He could be from Alaska for all I know," Rory argued. "It wouldn't work; it's better this way. I will always have the memories of a perfect summer."

"Is that enough, Rory?" Lane questioned carefully.

Rory gave her friend a soft sad smile that caused Lane to ache for her friend. The look was too much like the girl who had left months ago, and nothing like the girl who had talked about her summer love. "It has to be, doesn't it?"

xxx

Logan walked out of his parents' house, feeling a headache coming on. Just as he had said, things didn't change. Walking in had led to the typical greeting and conversations. His mother tried with all her might to be warm and loving toward him, but having forgotten a long time ago how to do so, their embrace and conversation had been, as always, formal, distant and stiff. He figured a loveless marriage did that to a person over time. And his father. Just the thought of the man caused his headache to intensify. The man was becoming a broken record.

Family obligation, tradition, respect, keeping in line, the Huntzberger name means everything.

"You need new material, Pops," Logan whispered to himself, getting in the limo again. "Yale, Frank, let's get away from this frozen hell."

"Of course, Mr. Huntzberger," Frank answered, letting the screen go up so the young man wouldn't see pity in his eyes.

Logan reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. Opening it, he looked at the newest picture he had placed there. A picture of Rory and himself the last night they had spent in Florence when he had given her the bracelet. Both smiling at each other as one of the hosts, who took pictures and then sold them to the tourists if they wanted to keep a souvenir of their time there, snapped the picture.

xxx

"Welcome home, Rory."

_** "If we could run, I would run with you too, Logan." **_

* * *

Edit A/N: I don't know what's happening to my scene dividers, they were there before I uploaded but 'Document Manager' is making them disappear and no matter what I do, they keep going away. so I put up line rulers, hopefully it'll be easier to read now. Thank you Naberrie Skyler, for bring it to my attention.

**A/N: Sad I know, and I know that people want them to met up, but first we needed to see that they already miss each other and the comfort they brought to each other's life.**

**I want to thank those that reviewed and ask you to continue to do so, you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear from you guys. My new readers but especially from my old readers who read this story many years ago. To know that you guys remember this story so fondly really is an honor. Thank very much for the kind words.**


	9. Blast from the Past

**A/N: I love Logan's friends, especially Stephanie, not only do we share the name but I thought she was pretty cool and I wish the show had given me more of her, but since they didn't here she is. I hope you guys like my version of the Logan's crew.**

**9. Blast from the Past**

Yale was quiet for once. Still days away from the start of the term, most students wouldn't be arriving until the end of the week, so only a few people would be around. Exactly the way Logan wanted it. A few days of peace before his friends arrived and the school buzzed again. Peace and quiet, something Logan didn't usually get to have, would be his for the moment. Of course, those thoughts flew out the window once he walked into his dorm.

He could feel the pulse of the bass the second he arrived at his floor level. He could also hear the laughter and smell the liquor. Checking his watch, he noticed it was already past midnight and from the sounds coming from his suite, the party was just starting. _'So much for sleep,'_ he thought as he came to a stop at his door, preparing himself before entering. He didn't know if he should be grateful that classes didn't start for a few days and campus police didn't care about breaking up his friends' party or if he should break it up himself. Taking a deep breath, he started to open the door. It didn't look like he was going to get the peace he wanted tonight.

Walking in, he took in the sight of his friends, a small smirk making its way to his face as he watched them. While it was true that he hadn't missed a great deal of things while traveling, his friends had very much been the exception to the rule.

"Well, if it isn't our wayward friend back from his European adventure."

"Finn, drunk and well, I see," Logan answered as his Aussie friend extracted himself from an arm full of women, all of whom pouted when Finn walked away. Some things didn't change at all.

"Welcome back, Mate."

"Thank you," Logan said as he returned the strong hug Finn gave him. "When did you guys get back?"

"This morning," Finn answered.

"And you already have a party going on," Logan commented, greeting people on the way to the bar that was set up in the back.

"Overachievers, the lot of us"

"Yes, I'm sure the dean would agree with that statement," Logan dryly answered, sharing a grin with his friend while fixing himself his usual drink. "So, Colin and Steph?"

"Around here somewhere." Finn waved his hand around. "Colin was already planning poker night with some of the usual players."

"And Stephanie?" Logan asked again, enjoying the small scowl Finn gave while reaching for another beer. "Finn?"

Finn rolled his eyes at Logan's amused tone and took a large swig of his drink before answering him. "Last I saw her, she was allowing those wankers Jacob and Alan to drool on her."

"Jealous much?"

"Please," Finn scoffed. "By the way, when you said that, you sounded just like a woman."

Logan laughed at the comment, not at all bothered. "Sticks and stones, my dear friend."

"Enough about my love life."

"Your love life involves Steph?" Logan interjected, wondering if he might get a response this time around, unlike all the other times he had asked this question. From Colin's weekly voicemail updates, he knew more than the usual was going on between his two stubborn friends.

"How about your love life," Finn answered, ignoring Logan's question and knowing look. "Colin told us something about a mystery girl answering your phone."

"Now who sound like a woman, Finn… a gossipy one at that," Logan joked, inwardly groaning. The questioning had started later than expected. Logan figured he should be grateful that they had at least let him have a drink and had sent Finn to start the inquisition. They were probably holding out the big guns until later. With that in mind, Logan silently promised himself to avoid Stephanie at all costs for the rest of the night.

"Oh, dodging," Finn said with glee, like the true 'Gossip Queen' he was. "This must be a good story."

"No dodging, no story." Logan downed his drink, nodding as people walked by them, welcoming him back.

"Logan," Finn started to whine before being cut off by Logan's sharp glare.

Logan reached for a bottle, refreshing his drink once more. "I'm going to my room."

"You're not sticking around for the party?"

"No, I'm tired. Jet lag's a bitch."

"Your room has been fixed again."

"Ah, Mom's assistant strikes again," Logan answered, walking away. "Try not to burn down the dorm."

Finn watched Logan make his way around the crowd, greeting people politely on his way. He watched as girls tried to stop him, smiling and staring up at him coyly like any other time, but unlike before, Logan didn't bite. He flashed that Huntzberger smile and charm he was programmed with, completely on autopilot, and continued making his way to his room, never once stopping.

"Anything?"

Finn turned to Colin and shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing about his trip, what he did or the girl. Not a single word out of our friend."

"It must be good then," Colin commented.

"My thoughts exactly," Finn answered, raising his beer in a toast. "So…"

"So…" Colin repeated, nodding his head in agreement. "Stephanie."

xxx

Rory walked slowly through her small sleepy hamlet, making her way to the center of it where the gazebo remained lit, unlike the rest of the town that had closed down for the night. After her conversation with Lane and hours of movies and food with her mother, she had been left restless while the rest of the town slept. Thoughts and memories played over like a movie in a continuous loop, leaving Rory to feel like she was right back where she started before Logan, except now he was also included in her running thoughts. Sitting back on one of the gazebo's benches, Rory sighed, closing her eyes, enjoying the warm breeze that passed. Absently, she ran her fingers over the bracelet that adorned her wrist. It really was beautiful. Lane had been gushing about it since the moment she had shown it to her.

'_What is it about the men in your life and bracelets?' _Lane had asked, causing her to laugh before remembering the last boy who had given her a bracelet. Noticing her reaction, her friend had hastily changed the subject, just quickly commenting that she hadn't seen much of Dean around town.

"Hey."

Rory felt like a bucket of cold water dropped on her when the voice filtered through her thoughts. Standing up quickly, she studied the person before her, their last conversation ringing loudly in her head. "Dean… hi."

"I heard you were back," he said softly, giving nothing away in his tone.

"Yeah, this afternoon," Rory answered, wondering if the conversation could possibly get any more uncomfortable. "How have you been?"

"Peachy."

Rory narrowed her eyes at the sarcastic tone and could feel herself stiffen up, a biting reply on the tip of her tongue that kept her in stunned silence. She was so ready for a fight that frankly, it startled her. Looking at her ex, she realized that it wouldn't get her anywhere. "Goodbye, Dean."

"Rory, wait," he said, reaching for her wrist to stop her.

Rory froze the moment Dean touched her. Looking down, she saw that his hand was touching her bracelet. Overcome with unexplained anxiety, Rory tugged away. He shouldn't be touching her bracelet, it was Logan's. Logan had given it to her and her ex shouldn't be touching it or her. It was insane; the thought was completely irrational but it didn't matter. All Rory knew at that moment was that Dean needed to stop touching her; needed to stop touching the one connection she had to Logan, and it needed to happen now. "Let go of me."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Rory," Dean answered, his tone hurt.

Hearing the pain in his voice didn't stop her. She continued to pull her arm. "Let go."

"God! Rory, what's wrong with you?" Dean asked, confused, letting go of her wrist. "I just want to talk to you."

"I got to go," Rory answered, once again running her hand over her bracelet. She didn't want to listen, she didn't want to be here, she didn't want the sadness and disappointment she felt when she saw Dean. God, she had been right, she would never be able to look at Dean and just remember the good things about them. All she saw now were her mistakes.

"It's about Lindsay."

Rory turned around and waited for Dean to continue.

"I'm still with her and I told her what happened." Dean stopped and Rory knew there was more. She waited for him to continue, watching the way he fidgeted. "She's pregnant, I thought you should know."

Rory stared at him and nodded slowly. "Thank you for telling me, it's more than I deserve."

They looked at each other for a moment longer and Rory knew that he was waiting for something, anything she could say to give him hope, about his life with his wife or with her. She couldn't, there was nothing more; this was just another nail on the coffin for them and he had to decide on his own about Lindsay. "I should go, Dean."

"Right."

Rory started to walk down the steps of the gazebo, stopping at the last one she looked straight ahead and said the only thing she could. "You'll be a great father." Turning her head, she gave him a soft smile. "Congratulations, Dad"

Dean returned her smile. "Thank you."

"Goodbye, Dean." With that, she kept walking, the wind carrying his voice to her ears.

"Goodbye, Rory."

xxx

He wasn't surprised when she walked into his room. If his friends wanted anything out of anyone, they sent in Stephanie Mackenzie. It was just the way it worked. She knew how to get to people; she knew how to get to him. After all, who could deny the Goldilocks of the group anything.

"Could you start out with an easy question, Mackenzie?" he asked, knowing it was her, not bothering to open his eyes while he laid on his bed.

"Sure," Stephanie agreed, lying down next to him. "Did you go to Paris?"

"Yes."

"Did you buy me something pretty?"

Logan chuckled softly. "Yes, greedy"

"Are you going to tell me about the girl?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because she's special"

"Okay," Stephanie said, getting up and making her way to the door.

"That's it?" Logan asked, cracking an eye open.

"Well, I really only wanted to know if you got me something," Stephanie answered, flashing him a smile.

"Of course," Logan said, smiling back at his friend.

"One more thing…"

"I knew it," Logan said triumphantly.

"Did you have fun?" Stephanie questioned.

Logan looked at her, trying to figure out the best way to answer. "I was happy."

Stephanie looked at him surprised, before a soft, almost sad smile made its way to her face. "What's that like?"

Logan looked up at his ceiling. "It was nice, peaceful."

xxx

Stephanie walked out of Logan's room only to have an almost collision with Colin and Finn, who were waiting eagerly for her return. Shaking her head, she gave them a mocked scowl. "Look at you two waiting for dirt."

"Did he say anything?"

"Not a word," Stephanie answered, watching both guys roll their eyes.

"Well, there goes my entertainment for the night," Colin mumbled walking away, causing Stephanie to roll her eyes this time.

"He told you nothing?" Finn asked, still looking after Colin who headed to the group of girls he had been talking to before.

"Sure you don't want to go and cut Colin off before he takes your harem?"

Finn turned his head, raising an eyebrow in a silent question while a grin played at his mouth.

"Logan did say something," Stephanie said, refusing to let the look Finn was giving her bug her.

"Oh?"

"I asked him if he had fun."

"And?" Finn asked, confused.

"He said he had been happy," Stephanie answered. "I asked him what that was like. He said it was nice, peaceful."

"You don't know what it's like to be happy, Love?" Finn asked, softly taking a step toward her, invading her personal space and blocking her from the party that raged on a few feet away.

Stephanie looked up at him and the melancholy in her usually bright eyes hurt Finn more than he cared to admit. Without intending to, he reached out and caressed her face, pushing back one of her blonde locks. "I do sometimes, but then…"

"Then what?"

Stephanie placed a hand over his heart, still looking up at him, she whispered, "Morning light comes and it goes away."

xxx

Days passed quicker than expected. Between getting everything ready for school, spending time in town, and helping out at the inn, before Rory knew it, she was showing movers where to place the furniture her grandmother had insisted she should have.

"Thanks again," Rory called out to the movers who smiled back at her, leaving her suite.

Rory laid back on her couch taking a deep breath, thinking over the things she had to do for the day. She and Paris had to move things around in their common room and figure out how they wanted things. Thinking of her roommate, Rory frowned; her poor friend was running around doing a million and one stuff to keep herself busy.

"Knock… knock."

Rory looked up at the door, a wide smile taking over. Getting up, she crossed the room to hug the person standing there. "Marty, it's good to see you."

"Thanks, you too," Marty said returning her hug. "Nice room."

"Yeah."

"I just wanted to come over and say hi."

"Are you in Branford too?" Rory asked.

"Yeah. Hey, you want to go get some coffee?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

xxx

"So, Asher Fleming died of a heart attack?"

Rory nodded her head, taking a step forward as the distance between her and the coffee cart got shorter. "Yes, and before you ask, no, it wasn't in bed."

Marty cracked a small smile, knowing he shouldn't laugh about the dead, but not being able to help himself. "You asked, didn't you?"

"Wouldn't you?" Rory asked him before placing her order and paying the vendor.

"Yes, I would," Marty agreed, placing his order while watching Rory already sucking down her coffee. "So, you haven't told me about your summer."

"Europe with my grandmother," Rory answered, not giving any more detail than that. She had been doing the same thing with everyone but Lane.

"Did you have fun?" Marty asked, paying for his own coffee, starting to walk with her.

"Yeah, I…" Rory started, only to be cut off as someone's shoulder bumped into her, causing her to drop her coffee. An automatic response came out of her mouth as she looked sadly down at her coffee. "I'm sorry, I…"

"Rory?"

Rory snapped her head up, her eyes widening as she took in the person before her who looked as shocked and confused as she was. Vaguely she noticed the two guys next to him giving him and her questioning looks.

"Logan?"

**A/N: The reviews that I have been getting amaze me, thank you so much for the nice words!**


	10. Cosmic Joke

**10. Cosmic Joke**

Stunned didn't even begin to explain what he was feeling. Suddenly the phrase 'you could knock me over with a feather' made a whole lot of sense. To say that he was floored would be the understatement of the year.

"Logan," she whispered in that same tone that came back to him each night as he slept.

Dimly hearing her say his name, Logan could only stare at the girl before him, his eyes moving as he blinked a few times, trying to get her in focus through his momentary haze with every other part of his body frozen in place. He wasn't imagining this; she was here, standing in front of him, a little pale, her eyes filled with confusion and surprise. A look he was sure he matched. She was a deer caught in the headlights, yet still stunningly beautiful.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, a question he completely ignored, along with the looks he knew his friends were giving him. Taking a step forward he raised his hand to her cheek, savoring the smoothness he knew he would feel. He had branded that piece of skin, along with every other on her body, with his kisses. This was real, she was real, and for the life of him, he didn't know what to do with that. Touching her smooth cheek, images bombarded him: their first meeting, their dates, their first kiss and their last night together.

Memories of her skin, her warmth, her kisses, were pushed aside by the memory of him waking up alone in his hotel room nothing but a note to warn him. It was a memory that left him cold; a feeling that wasn't supposed to be associated with Rory. Dropping his hand, he took a step back. "You left."

Rory felt like everything was going in slow motion. She could see every emotion and thought that passed through Logan's eyes: surprise, shock, momentary joy, before something else took over, something that sprung a solid wall between them and suddenly Rory couldn't see anything. As he spoke, she realized why. Guilt flooded her at his tone, leaving her with nothing intelligent to say. "You made me drop my coffee."

Logan cracked an involuntary smile, a surprised chuckle coming out. "Yes, yes I did."

They continued to stare at each other, neither knowing how to continue or even how to start. Only when one of their companions moved did they react to the world around them.

xxx

Marty placed his arm around Rory's shoulder. He had watched as Rory paled when she recognized the guy in front of her, watching him as intently as he was watching her.

"Are you okay, Rory?" he asked her while looking at the other guy who narrowed his eyes at his gesture, giving Rory a hard look.

"Boyfriend?"

"No, Logan," Rory answered quickly, taken aback at the question. "Marty is…"

"Wait, I know you," Logan interrupted, looking at the guy Rory called Marty. "I'm seeing you in a uniform of some kind."

"Maytag repairman," Finn offered, obviously tired of staying quiet this long.

"Cleaning service?" Colin asked, taking a shot at the other boy, his tone amused, while he continued to study his friend and the girl in front of him. Logan's reaction to the girl had his interest; Logan's reaction to the idea that the girl was taken by the boy who was now blushing with discomfort shot his curiosity sky high.

Logan watched as Rory narrowed her eyes at the comment. He continued looking at her carefully, tuning out while her friend answered that he might have bartended for one of his parties, all the while not taking his arm off Rory, something that was slowly driving him crazy. As she met his eyes again, he didn't see the girl that he had met in Europe, the girl who he had been dreaming about since returning. He also didn't see the nervous, guilt-ridden girl of a few moments before when he had questioned her about her disappearing act their last night together. No, the girl he saw now was staring him down; the girl he saw was pissed off…at him.

He continued to question her expression when he realized that she was saying goodbye to her friend and starting to walk away, again. Watching her turn her back to him, something broke inside and he quickly moved, grabbing her arm. He turned her around a few feet away from where their friends stood, not even bothering to hide their interest.

"You're just going to walk away, again?"

"We had an agreement," was her only answer and Logan had a strong urge to shake her, kiss her, anything to remove the detached look on her face.

"That agreement went out the window our last night together, and if it didn't, it's definitely out the window now. You're here, Rory, and so am I," Logan answered, feeling himself get more aggravated by the moment. More desperate, too, a feeling he didn't like at all.

"Logan…"

"You left," Logan repeated.

"You knew I would," Rory pointed out, knowing she was right when he didn't answer right away.

"I was hoping you wouldn't," Logan said honestly and waited for an answer; one he knew she didn't have. Knowing he should leave it at that, walk away, think about how both of them being in the same place at the same time didn't change things, he still couldn't help but ask, "What now?"

Rory sighed, once again not having a response for him, but a part of her glad that she wasn't the only one blindsided and lost with this new development. "No clue."

"This conversation isn't over," Logan said, letting go of her.

"I know." Rory gave him the first smile since he had bumped into her. It was small, but it was there nonetheless. "I know you."

"Yes, you do, just remember that, Rory, that's all I ask," Logan said quietly as he turned and walked back to his friends.

xxx

By the time Rory made it back to her dorm she was shaking, her nerves shot to hell and for the life of her, she had no idea what to think or feel. Things like this just didn't happen in real life. No, they were only supposed to happen in Danielle Steel novels.

For days now, she had wondered about Logan − where he was, what he was doing. She had daydreamed about seeing him again. Seeing him at her school hadn't been part of the fantasy, him being upset with her wasn't part of it either. This was not supposed to happen. Fantasizing about them meeting was all fine and good, wonderful even, but the reality of it was a completely different story.

All Rory saw out of this scenario was chaos. More than once, they had established that they were different people in their respective worlds; those people wouldn't work. Knowing that, knowing what they had had, and now knowing that they were closer than either one expected was a recipe for pain. Pain that was already starting with their short meeting. The look he gave her, the tone his voice had taken when he asked her about Marty had been hard and distant, two things that weren't associated with Logan.

_** I'm a different person back home; I don't always like it, but it's who I am. **_

Groaning, Rory made her way to her couch; dropping on it, she brought her hands to her face, stifling a scream of frustration. Before he shut down on her, he had touched her the same way he had the last time. Thinking back to their night together, Rory let a soft smile pass her lips. That night had been amazing; the way he had touched her had awaken every nerve in her body. Everywhere he touched, kissed, sucked, had burned, clouding her vision until all she saw were spots. Her body was left shaky and boneless after his attention to it.

Closing her eyes, Rory felt like she was back in his hotel room, reliving every moment. She could hear their shallow breaths mingling again, their moans, Logan whispering, in broken groans, her name echoing in her ears. Promises of how good he was going to make her feel repeated in her head… he kept that promise. Sweet words in hushed tones telling her that this was different, that this changed things, that they were meant to meet. Things she had agreed to in the haze he had put her in. Shaking her head, Rory broke from her memories. He had every right to be furious with her for sneaking out on him like a thief in the night.

"This is bad."

"What are you babbling about?"

Rory looked up at the question. Walking out from one of the rooms, her roommate moved around their dorm suite like a woman possessed. Paris was dressed in complete black, her hair neat in a French braid; the only dash of color on her was a string of pearls around her neck. Remembering her friend's loss, Rory got up quickly from the couch, walked over to Paris, and enfolded her in a tight hug, a little surprised when Paris returned the embrace.

"I'm going to miss him, Rory," Paris whispered as they separated, the tears she was holding back apparent in her voice.

"I know," Rory said, leading her friend to the couch.

"I want to have a wake," Paris said, going into what Rory had come to know as 'Paris mode': intense, focused, and collected.

"A wake?" Rory asked slowly.

"People who want to pay their respects to Asher should have a place to do so," Paris delivered the line defensively, as if counting on a battle that Rory wouldn't give her. "Here"

"Then we'll have a wake."

xxx

Logan walked quietly, his friends walking behind him as he led the way to their dorm. They were plotting, plotting for a way to get him to talk. He knew the curiosity was killing them, and if it wasn't for the shock that still lingered inside him since seeing Rory, he would be enjoying baiting his nosy friends.

"Logan?"

"Drop it, Finn, it's none of your business, or Colin's, or Stephanie's when you go and tell her," Logan answered, not bothering to turn around to face his friends as he spoke.

"So there's something to tell?"

"Colin…"

"She's hot, Logan," Finn said, grinning as he remembered the brunette, only to lose his smile at the glare Logan sent his way. "Or not."

Rolling his eyes, Logan just made his way to his room, shutting the door on his questioning friends.

Sitting down on his bed, Logan laid back, staring at the ceiling with a humorless smile playing on his lips. Rory, of all places, was at Yale. Thinking back to their summer and their conversations of their real lives, both thinking they would be worlds apart, and in the end, they shared a college campus. Someone, some higher being, was having one hell of a laugh at his or her expense. If this wasn't a cosmic joke, he didn't know what was.

_** "I think maybe we were fated to meet, don't you?"_

"_I think so, Rory, I think so." **_

It looked like they were right.

xxx

Logan walked out of his room after dark, only in search of a drink. Somehow, he had fallen into a sporadic sleep where visions of the past mixed with the present. Words, looks, and touches drowned his senses, leaving him in the same warm mist he always had around Rory before waking up to his dark room. Making his way through the common room, he ignored his friends who had stopped their conversation the second he came into view.

Dipping his head back, he took a large gulp of the bottled water, mentally preparing himself when he heard his friends move from the couch, making their way to the small kitchenette he was standing in.

"So, we saw that girl again," Colin started off.

Logan, not bothering to ask who he was referring to, waited for Colin to continue. When Finn continued where Colin trailed off, Logan smirked. Tag-teaming always amused him.

"She was putting up posters," Finn said, handing over one of the said posters.

Logan took it, reading what it was. Once checking all the information out, Logan looked up at his friends, his face giving away nothing. "Professor Asher Fleming died, there's a wake tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Okay," Logan said going back to his room. Stopping at his door, he offered his friends a small smile. "What are you guys doing tomorrow?"

Colin narrowed his eyes in question while Finn responded, already knowing where this was headed, "You tell us."

"We're going to a wake."

**A/N: Hope you guys liked it! Reviews have been awesome, thank you so much!**


	11. Action Works

**11. Action Works**

"No…freaking…way," laughter broke up the words.

Rory turned away from the mantel where she was putting up yet another picture of Asher Fleming to give her best friend a half felt glare. The look did nothing to the perky Asian girl who was laying on the couch giggling. "I see nothing funny here."

"You don't think it's funny that you had to go to the other side of the world to meet this Logan guy when you could have very well met in class or a college mixer?" Lane asked, still smiling at her friend's luck. She knew that Rory was already seeing this as a crisis, but she also remembered the look on Rory's face when she had first talked about this guy; him being so close brought infinite possibilities for her dear friend, whether she saw it or not.

"I don't go to college mixers," Rory answered, heading to her room to get more candles.

"You really should," Lane called out. "Expand your horizons and what not."

"You sound like Lorelai," Rory said, coming out of her room armed with candles.

Lane got up and took some of the candles out of her hands, placing them in some of the nooks and crannies of the common room. "Lorelai is right. So, what exactly is all this for?"

"For Professor Asher Fleming's wake."

Lane wrinkled her nose slightly. "Asher Fleming was Paris'..."

"Boyfriend."

"Got to admit, Paris is definitely interesting," Lane said, sitting back down. "How is she taking it?"

"Hard… she loved him," Rory said, sympathy for her friend lining her voice as she looked at one of the pictures of the deceased teacher. Paris had to say goodbye to a man she loved; Rory could not even begin to comprehend how that would feel. "But she's Paris so she's being strong and active like always."

"Sad."

"Yeah, so anyway, she wants to give him a wake and here we are."

"You think it will help her?" Lane asked, also feeling for the girl. They were only acquaintances, barely knowing each other through Rory, but pain was pain and she knew the prickly girl had to be hurting.

"I hope so."

Rory motioned to the phone as it started to ring as she moved around some of the framed pictures. "Get that, please."

Lane got up and picked up the phone, smiling at the voice on the phone. "It's Lorelai."

Rory walked over to the phone and pressed the speaker phone button, greeting her mother.

"Daughter of mine," Lorelai's voice excitedly filled the room.

"Someone's happy," Rory commented, sharing amused looks with Lane. "Guess the date with Luke went well."

"It should've, seeing as she came down this morning to the diner in a beautiful flannel outfit, sans pants," Lane said, grinning when Rory stared at her in disbelief and Lorelai groaned through the line.

"Talk," Rory commanded playfully, knowing that her mother was really busting at the seams to share.

Together, Lane and Rory listened to Lorelai recount her date, starting from the momentary awkwardness at the door, to meeting Maisy and Buddy at Sniffy's Tavern. She went on a small tangent when she talked about the Sniffy story, after getting her back on track, Lorelai continued by telling them about the horoscope, leaving both Rory and Lane gushing.

"That's so sweet, Luke really is a softie," Lane sighed. "Don't tell him I said that, he might fire me."

Lorelai laughed, agreeing she wouldn't and continued with her story, only stopping once it got to the part of her staying the night and Rory interrupted.

"That's enough, Mom, we're happy for you but we don't want to picture Luke naked," Rory said quickly, looking at Lane for support, who nodded her head vigorously.

"Fine," Lorelai said through the phone; both girls could practically hear her pout. "By the way, your grandmother has been calling, a lot, I might add."

"Why?"

"To drive me crazy, of course!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Mom."

Lorelai sighed at Rory's disapproving tone. "She's bored… Dad's been leaving at night from the pool house a lot and she just has to share."

"This is hard for her," Rory explained, feeling bad for her grandparents.

"I don't know what she thought this separation by the pool house would be like, but did she really think it would be easy?" Lorelai asked, annoyed at her parents but also feeling just as bad as Rory for them. "Anyway, forget that, what's it like being back at Yale? Anything interesting going on?"

Lane raised an eyebrow at Rory, waiting for her to answer her mother.

"Umm, no, not much, fixing the dorm, getting ready for classes, preparing a wake for Professor Fleming,"

Rory answered, turning her back to Lane.

"How's Paris?"

"She's been better."

"I bet," Lorelai said concerned. "Okay, Babe, I'll talk to you later. Bye, Lane."

"Bye, Lorelai," Lane called out. She waited for Rory to turn around to continue, "Any reason why you still haven't told Lorelai about Logan?"

"I'm not ready to explain Logan to her."

Lane sighed, nodding her head slowly. "I should go, we've got band practice. That is, if Zach can disentangle himself from his groupies."

Rory let out an automatic smile at Lane's disgusted attitude. "Meow!"

"Ugh, I know!" Lane groaned as she got up to pace. "I hear myself, but I can't stop the cattiness from coming out. I snap at him and his bimbos, but of course, he's clueless, he's Zach!"

"You should just get it over with and tell him, do something about it."

Lane gave Rory a knowing look, a mocking grin on her face. "My, that's just sound advice."

Rory scoffed softly, ignoring the teasing tone her friend used with her. "You got nothing to lose."

"Except my band, my roommates, my dignity."

"Lane…"

"I know, I know," Lane started raising her hand to stop the lecture she could feel coming on. "Nothing to lose, I could tell him, see where it goes, if anywhere. I'm going now."

Rory opened the door for her. "Call me later."

"You got it."

xxx

Stephanie gawked down at him, hands on hips, scowl on face, completely annoyed. He was lying back on his bed; all he wore was one of his many cargo pants that seemed to have, at the very least, twenty pockets, a seashell necklace that she'd gotten for him over the summer, and a smirk, nothing else. Any other time she would be secretly enjoying his naked chest, the same way she had done all summer; today, however, she just stared at him in disbelief, not sexual awareness.

"You called me over to gossip about some mystery girl of Logan's. Newsflash, Logan has many girls… the line to get to him is longer than the one to Space Mountain."

"This one was different, at least his reaction to her was," Finn coolly responded, allowing his smile to grow as he remembered her words. "Why? What did you think I called you over for?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes at his suggestive tone. "I should know better than to try to have a conversation with you, I'm out of here."

Finn was off his bed and in front of her before she knew it. Trapping her between the door and him, he stared her down. One of his hands came to rest against the door next to her head while the other grasped her waist. "Don't go."

"You know, for a man that spends most of his hours drinking, you are unexpectedly stealthy," Stephanie teased, trying to overlook the heat that radiated off his body.

Other than a teasing smirk of his own, the only answer she got was his lips grazing the spot below her ear. Going excruciatingly slow, he placed small warm kisses down her neck before settling at her collarbone, nipping at the delicate soft skin he found.

"Don't you dare leave a hickey," she whispered, tilting her head to give him more access, her voice taking a husky quality that always made Finn grin and, honestly, made all his blood pool south.

"You're no fun," the words brushed over her lips.

"That's the rumor," she whispered before crushing her mouth to his.

xxx

"You know we've got events to plan."

"Yes, yes, I know, Colin," Logan agreed, a bit irritated as he opened the door to their dorm. "New school year, parties, events, grand assembly number one-hundred and something, give it a rest, Master of Ceremonies."

"Wow, someone's irritable," Colin pointed out, heading for the mini bar.

"Sorry," Logan apologized. "Didn't sleep well last night."

"Thinking of a brunette girl?"

Logan groaned. "Colin."

Colin rolled his eyes at the sound his friend made, handing him a drink. "You are going to tell us eventually about this girl, right?"

"Yeah, eventually."

"Good enough," Colin said, raising his glass in salute. "Well, speaking of sleep, let's check in on our indolent friend."

Walking over to Finn's bedroom, he pounded on the wooden door. "It's four in the afternoon, Finn, get your ass out of bed already."

Logan chuckled as Colin continued yelling and hitting the door. It really was the only way to wake up their friend during the sun hours. Taking a sip of his drink, he waited for the tirade that would come the second a sleepy Finn opened the door. He didn't have to wait long as a flushed, tousled Finn pried opened the door angrily.

"What!" shouted an annoyed Finn who was only in his underwear.

Colin looked Finn up and down, stopping his gaze at his friend's chest where there were a few red marks, bite marks. "Who you got in there, Finn?"

"No one," Finn answered quickly, a red tint making its way to his cheeks.

Logan grinned at the reaction, sharing a look with Colin. They could already guess who might be in the room. "Then you found a new way to molest yourself, Finn?"

Finn gave them both a dirty look, ready to answer back when the small blonde pushed him aside to get out of his room.

Fixing her slightly disheveled clothes, Stephanie raised her head up and gave them a breezy smile, making her way to the door. Hand on knob, she turned to them, addressing them all the while staring Finn down until he shifted in place. "Like Finn said, I'm _no one_. Later, boys."

She was out the door before any one of them could stop her. Colin and Logan turned their gazes to their friend, waiting for him to say something; all they got out of Finn was a roll of the eyes and a slammed door.

"My God, he's an idiot," Colin said, shaking his head as he sat next to Logan.

"Love makes men stupid," Logan answered, frowning at his words. "God, that was maudlin."

"You think?" Colin asked, laughing. "I just hate that he's hurting Stephanie and himself for no reason."

"He has a reason, a stupid one, but it's his reason. They may fool around, but Finn still thinks Steph belongs to you."

Colin scoffed at the comment. "Stephanie and I were a million years ago."

"But you loved her," Logan pointed out.

"I still do, but not like that. I want her happy, and if Finn got his shit together, she could be happy, he could happy, and you and I wouldn't have to put up with their freaking drama. Do you have any idea how annoying they were this summer… flirting, fighting, and mooning over each other? All summer I had a beer in one hand and an aspirin bottle in the other."

"That might have to do more with the beer than them," Logan joked.

"No, it was them," Colin assured him. "I felt like weighing anchor and leaving them stranded on one of the islands."

"That would have been fun," Logan said, getting up. "I'm going to lie down. If you guys are really coming to the wake with me, I'm leaving at seven."

"Wouldn't miss it."

xxx

What should have been a somber affair was a cross between a weird poetry club and the beginnings of a kegger. No one seemed to realize that they were attending a wake for a dead professor.

"Well, this is a party."

Rory quickly turned around, sighing in relief. "Marty, thank God, this is a disaster. People seem to think it's exactly that, a party."

"And Paris…?"

"Paris… bless her, is Paris and hasn't caught on," Rory said. Looking around for her roommate, she found her in a corner giving away copies of Asher Fleming's book to their oblivious guests.

"She might catch on soon," Marty said, pointing to the two men carrying a keg.

"No," Rory moaned pitifully.

"I'm on it," Marty said, walking away.

"Thank you," Rory called out. "This is bad, this is so very bad."

"Well, it's not a rave destined to go down in party history, but it has its potential."

Rory went still at the voice. It amazed her how being around him always fit the most lovesick clichés. People didn't really get goose bumps and racing hearts at the sound of someone's voice, did they?

Turning around slowly, she gave him a tiny smile. He was different now. Yesterday he had been surprised, caught off guard. Today, however, he was cool, collected Logan, his eyes giving away nothing, a smirk firmly in place. He wasn't giving an inch and obviously thought now was the time to have their little tête-à-tête.

"Hello."

"Hello," Logan echoed. "Ready for that conversation."

"Logan, this is a memorial of sorts," Rory explained, to which Logan and the guys standing behind him nodded.

"It's quite the party," said the taller one wearing sunglasses with an accent.

"Rory, Finn," Logan said, pointing at the guy who was grinning at her, before pointing at the other one that seemed to have walked out of a J. Crew magazine. "And this is Colin, guys this is Rory."

"I'd call you beautiful, darling, but Logan already glared at me before for calling you hot," Finn said stepping forward, taking her hand before she could stop him and kissing it. "But you really are stunning."

"Finn…"

"Finn, drop the girl's hand before Logan has a coronary," Colin interrupted, stepping around his friends, he stuck out his hand to the girl. "Colin McCrae, we are just dying to know all about you. Logan's not giving away anything."

Rory stood at a loss with Logan's friends, a little overwhelmed by their attention. It was also a little weird for her, knowing things about them when they knew nothing. She gave Logan a questioning look, his only response was an aggravated sigh. He really hadn't told his friends anything about them. Logan had always talked about his friends as his family; it truly surprised her that after the encounter they had witnessed he hadn't explained.

"Hi."

"Rory and I need to talk, boys," Logan said, stepping in front of them, his hand seeking hers. So used to it, Rory intertwined her fingers with his. The action was not lost on any of them.

"Gotcha," Finn said, swinging his arm over Colin's shoulder. "We'll mingle."

"Logan, we can't do this here," Rory said, watching his friends walk away.

"I agree," Logan said looking around. "Where's your room?"

Rory sighed, knowing she couldn't get out of this, she pointed to the door on the left. She wasn't surprised when he started pulling her to it.

"Logan, I can't just leave, I have to make sure nothing happens," Rory complained, the excuse sounding lame even to her own ear. She figured he agreed, if the look he gave her was anything to go by.

"Boys," Logan yelled to his friends. "Make sure no one breaks anything."

Finn stared at him with a blank expression while Colin looked at him amused.

"Let me rephrase… Colin, make sure Finn doesn't break anything."

Rory watched, amused at the way Colin nodded his head agreeing while Finn gave both his friends a fake hurtful look, with full pout and all. She allowed Logan to usher her into her room. She faced the bed not looking at him, the click of her lock sounding louder than it should. Turning around, she saw the way Logan leaned against the door like a human shield. "I'm not going to run away, Logan, you don't have to barricade us in."

"You sure about that?" Logan asked, no hurt this time, just curiosity.

Rory ignored the question. It was liable to start them off on the wrong foot. "I like your friends. Well, better than yesterday anyway. They were exactly like you told me."

"They have their moments. I know you got upset about the comments they made to your friend. They speak before they think sometimes, but they're harmless."

"You didn't tell them about me."

"I wasn't sure what to say," Logan answered honestly. "And I wanted to keep you to myself."

"Logan…"

"I missed you," Logan interrupted. "I thought you should know. Did you miss me?"

"Of course, I've missed you, Logan," Rory said quickly, surprised that he even had to ask.

"We need to talk about things, Rory."

"I don't know what to say," Rory admitted quietly.

"Neither do I," Logan said looking at the floor.

They both stayed quiet, looking at each other, neither being able to utter another word. The short distance between them seemed to grow with every silent second that passed. Slowly, Logan straightened up from the door, taking a step forward. "My father says when you can't talk, take action."

"What…"

Her question was muffled, in seconds he had closed the gap between them, his mouth taking hers. Her hand came to his chest, her initial reaction to stop him, but as his hand made its way to her hair, her own hands took on a life of their own and instead of pushing him away, they gripped his shirt, pulling him closer. His kiss deepened, his lips parting to take her bottom lip in between his, sucking on it softly, and all Rory wanted to do was get closer still, crawl into him if she could. He nipped lightly on her lip, causing Rory to gasp, an opportunity that Logan took full advance of, sinking his tongue into her, exploring very inch of her mouth at an agonizingly slow pace. Only when their lungs began to burn at the lack of oxygen did he allow the kiss to break, and Rory whimpered at the loss of contact.

"Action works so much better for us," he whispered, leading her back.

Rory allowed him to move her, for the moment forgetting that they shouldn't be doing this, that things were different now, or the fact that there were at least thirty people on the other side of the door. Nothing mattered as they dropped on to her bed.

"Don't you think?" he whispered the words in her ear, his lips closing in on her earlobe.

He didn't expect a verbal answer and he didn't get one. All he got was breathy moan and a firm grip on his hair keeping him in place. Grinning, Logan continued to kiss her.

Yes, action worked so much better for them.

**A/N: Let me know what you guys think of Stephanie and Finn, I have a deep fascination with Finn, could be that Tanc is hot as hell and his accent gave me tingles. Love hearing from you guys, so throw me a line. Enjoy!**


	12. Paris, Fish Boy and Rules

**12. Paris, Fish Boy and Rules**

"What do you think they're doing?"

Colin gave Finn a look that clearly said he thought the question was extremely foolish. "It's Logan and he obviously has a thing for this girl, what do you think they're doing?"

"She really is attractive," Finn said, following Colin as he made his way to a corner where they could observe the gathering.

"Yeah, and Logan looked like he wanted to throw you across the room both times you pointed it out. Let's not even _start_ on the look he gave you when you kissed her hand," Colin smirked, remembering his friend's annoyance. "He's extremely possessive of this one; Logan's not like that."

Finn shook his head as he listened to Colin. "It's killing you isn't it, not knowing?"

Colin scoffed at the question. "Please, tell me you're not. Logan never keeps anything from us but this girl, he's tighter than a clam about her, tell me you don't want to know what their story is."

"When did we become gossip queens?"

"You were born this way, Finn," Colin said dryly, grinning at the irritated look Finn shot him. "Me, well, I've just been spending too much time with you."

"Ha bloody ha, real comedian you are."

"Thank you."

"So, who is this dead bloke again?" Finn asked, pointing to one of the many pictures.

"Professor Asher Fleming," Colin started his recitation. "Professor of Literature, Yale alumni himself, highly respected and had a reputation for liking and dating them young… freshmen like."

Finn smiled approvingly as he looked at the older man's photograph. "A Lolita chaser, nice. You think Logan's girl was the last Lolita Fleming had? She is hosting his wake."

"No," Colin answered certainly.

"Why so sure?"

"For one, that girl is as hung up on our dear friend as he appears to be with her, and two, I believe our hostess is right over there," Colin pointed at a blonde, the only one dressed in black, hair pulled back neatly, elegant knee-length dress with a cardigan over it and a string of pearls around her neck. She looked like she should be part of a DAR meeting. "Fleming had good taste."

Finn studied the girl his friend was pointing at. "It would seem so. Let's go greet her."

"Why?"

"She's next to the keg," Finn said, already taking the lead.

Colin followed his friend. "Finn logic."

xxx

Her eyes flashed, her jaw clenched, and in that moment, Marty feared for his well-being.

"Why is there a keg at my wake, Marty?" she hissed out at him, reminding him of a rattlesnake.

"Umm…well," Marty started letting out a nervous chuckle, not quite knowing how to deal with a furious Paris Geller. Usually now was when Rory stepped in to defuse the situation or go toe to toe with the angry girl, giving him time to escape.

"Booze, goody, I feared it would be a dry event," was what saved Marty from the Geller glacier glare. "I know you."

Marty focused on the Aussie as he squinted at him, obviously trying to remember him. It didn't seem like he needed much alcohol in him.

"Rory's bartender friend, we met him yesterday, Finn," said the other one walking up behind the Australian.

"And Rory is?" he asked, reaching for the tap, only to have his hand slapped away by the blonde standing there. Finn stared at her in amazement, pulling his hand away quickly. Marty just shifted in his place, looking around trying to find Rory.

Colin pushed down his laughter. Finn looked like a puppy surprised to be hit with the newspaper while the blonde-haired girl looked ready to attack. Controlling his laughter but not his grin, Colin answered Finn.

"Logan's mystery girl. Hi, I'm Colin. The boy you just abused is my friend Finn and you are?"

"Annoyed."

"So noted, but is that what we're supposed to call you?" Colin asked, more and more amused with the girl who scowled with displeasure.

"How about you don't talk to me at all and then you won't have to call me anything." Colin and Finn remained silent, waiting her out, both smiling as the girl practically growled and stomped her feet. "Paris Geller."

"Pretty," Finn leered and Colin rolled his eyes. This girl was as pretty as she was high-strung, that much was as obvious as Finn's lack of self-preservation skills. "Did your parents travel a lot? Is that why they named you Paris?"

"No, did your parents want a fish and get stuck with you?" Paris retorted, earning a chortle out of the other boy. She hated that they were both so amused with her.

"Forgive my friend, he has moments of…"

"Stupidity?" Paris quipped and continued mockingly, "So noted."

Colin could feel honest glee going back and forth, talking to the girl the way he had. Clearing his throat, he tried to make peace before he or Finn lost a body part. "It's a nice wake."

"Or it was until the nitwit juice showed up," Paris answered, glaring at Marty who raised his hand in surrender.

"I like you, you're spunky," Finn declared as if giving her some big praise. "We're going to get along just fine."

"Fish boy," Paris said smiling. While she sounded calm, it could be seen by all that she was seething. "The only way we'll get along is if you're neutered."

"Paris!"

Paris and the rest of them looked toward the door. Paris quickly smoothed the front of her dress. "Find Rory and tell her, her grandmother is here," she whispered to them walking away. "Mrs. Gilmore… Emily!"

"I like her."

"You like a broom if it has a skirt on, Finn."

"You liked her, too, don't lie."

Colin cracked a smile. "She did amuse, after all, who would call you fish boy."

"That was…"

"Excuse me," Marty interrupted whatever was about to come out of Finn's mouth. "You guys can obviously go on and on, but I have to find Rory."

"Her bedroom," Finn answered helpfully while Colin smiled a little more, already estimating the entertainment value of all of this.

"How do you know?"

"Cause that's where she and our friend went when we last saw them, and we're pretty sure they haven't come out."

xxx

Coffee be damned, she had a new habit. Hot and addictive, that was the only way to describe kissing Logan. His mouth warm and skilled, it left her in a heady haze where she forgot everything down to her own name. Once she had discovered kissing, Rory had always enjoyed it. Dean was sweet and careful; Tristan, in that one kiss, had been intense; Jess, in his good moods, had been playful. Logan had been all that the first time they kissed. Now though, it was that, and so much more. He toyed with her, with his lips and tongue, his hands grazing parts of her body, enough that it was buzzing alive.

"I've been dreaming about you… your mouth, your eyes, your body… what it would be like to be inside you, since the moment I first saw you," he whispered against her lips, his hand drawing small circles on the inside of her drawn up thigh, pushing her skirt out of the way. "I never got to tell you that the night we spent together."

"You're such a guy," she whispered back, earning a chuckle out of him, her breath catching as his hand brushed the edge of her panties. "This is a bad idea, we should be talking."

"You're right, but do you want stop?" Logan questioned, stopping all movement but not getting off her, liking her close to him and underneath.

"I…" Rory was stopped by the ringing of her cell phone that lay on her desk. "That's a sign."

"No, that's your phone," Logan countered, rolling over so she could get up.

"It's my Mom." Rory looked confused. "When did you take off your shirt?"

Logan raised an eyebrow at the question. With a wicked smile he pointed at himself. "Me? You mean when did _you_ take off my shirt? The answer is… while I was unbuttoning yours and sucking on your neck, and you made that breathy whimper thing you do. It's one hell of a turn on, Rory."

Rory raised her hand to her neck, blushing bright red as he continued to smile at her, his eyes twinkling with laughter. Turning her back on him, she answered her phone. "Hi, Mom! What's up?"

"Rory, I am so, so, so, so sorry, so sorry. I didn't mean to sic her on you. She just kept calling and I was in the middle of a town meeting where Taylor had pink and blue charts about me and Luke, and I'm so, so, so sorry."

"Mom, what the hell are you talking about? You're rambling more than usual. Who did you sic on me?" Rory asked, confused.

"I know and I'm sorry. Sorry… sorry."

"Did you have too much coffee today?" Rory asked, rolling her eyes at the dramatic gasp.

"Take it back, Rory."

Rory let out a suffered sigh, turning back to look at Logan who had pulled on his shirt but had not buttoned it. He was checking her out and not bothering to hide it. Every place his eyes landed she quivered. "Fine, I take it back. There is no such thing as too much coffee."

"Addict?" Logan mouthed, and Rory knew he had no idea.

"But who did you sic on me?"

"Rory?" Marty asked through the door, knocking softly. "You in there?"

Rory walked to the door, opening it enough to stick her head out. "Yes?"

"Your grandmother is here."

"Oh…thank you Marty, I'll be out in a sec," she said, giving him a small smile, closing the door again.

"Lorelai, why is Grandma here?"

"I'm so, so sorry."

"Yeah, I got that, Mother. I'll talk to you later," she said. Shutting her phone, she quickly made her way to the mirror to examine herself. She buttoned her blouse and fixed her hair, smoothing out any wrinkles.

"I take it that it's a good thing I didn't leave any bite marks?" The comment was completely tongue in cheek.

Rory ignored the remark, heading for the door. "I've got to go see what my Grandmother wants. You don't keep Emily Gilmore waiting."

Logan froze at the name, not being able to ask her anything as she walked out the door. Buttoning his shirt, he quickly followed her out the door. He watched in what seemed like slow motion as Rory made her way to an elegant older woman who was by the door of the dorm suite and hugged her kindly. A woman he recognized. He ignored both Colin and Finn as they came to stand next to him, a smile making its way to his face at the sheer irony of the situation. "Emily Gilmore."

"Is the grandmother of your secret girl," Finn said, a little amazed. "So, not only is she your secret girl, but the result of the Gilmore/Hayden scandal. You know how to pick interesting subjects, Huntz, I'll give you that. And you've been holding out a lot from us."

Logan laughed a little hearing his friend's commentary. "Well, I'll be damned."

"So, what now?"

"Don't know about you, but I'm gone."

xxx

"Leave the door unlocked, knowing Finn, he'll lose his keys somewhere and he'll be banging all night," Logan called out to Colin, walking into his room and locking the door to escape his friend's questioning looks. He laid back on his bed staring at his ceiling.

_** "Rory."_

_"__I've never heard that name before," he commented._

_"__It's my nickname, my real name is Lorelai."_

_"__Well…" he began taking one of her hands that rested on the table and brought it to his lips. "It's very nice to meet you…Lorelai." **_

"Lorelai Gilmore," Logan spoke out loud, laughing softy as he said it. "Granddaughter of Richard and Emily Gilmore."

Quickly, his mind shifted through all he knew about the family. Growing up where he did and with whom, he knew plenty. The Gilmore and Hayden scandal, just like Finn had called it. Everyone knew about it, even Finn himself who hadn't grown up in Hartford society. If Rory only knew how well he knew her story. How well a lot of people did. Her mother and father had been juicy gossip for the elite years after her mom all but disappeared with her. He and his group of friends had grown up with stories of the Gilmore's wild child who had disgraced the family. Usually, the stories followed with threats of disownment if they themselves stepped a toe out of line. He continued staring up, ignoring his phone when it started to ring, grateful he hadn't picked it up when the voice came through the answering machine.

"Logan, it's your father," the message started. Logan rolled his eyes, laughing a little at the stupidity of the words, like he wouldn't know that it was his father. "I just want to remind you that a new year means a new year at the newspaper. I expect you to show up, Logan. Don't make me call you about this again."

The machine beeped, signaling the end of the message.

"Still no manners, Pop," Logan said sarcastically. "_The Yale Daily News_, wonderful."

xxx

As she opened the door she sighed warily. Just standing there she was already experiencing that tell tale flip of her stomach and the dull throb at her temple − the beginnings of a headache. When she was alone and could not escape her thoughts, she examined the meaning of her feelings. The excitement and joy she felt when they were around each other, followed quickly by the frustration and pain of them not being able to get it together − something they were both to blame for and something she feared would slowly eat away at their friendship.

"I come bearing peace offerings, as in plural."

Stephanie looked at him with caution, watching the way he shifted and bounced on the balls of his feet, a nervous trait he tried to hide behind a cocky grin. "Jewelry, a car, your balls on a silver platter?"

"I can get you the jewelry and car tomorrow," Finn said, smiling widely, taking a step closer to her, brushing his lips over her cheek chastely. "And you are as close to owning my balls as anyone ever will be."

Stephanie laughed at the insane comment, pushing him away, opening the door more to allow him in. "You must be drunk, I'll remind you of this later… be sure of it."

"Believe it or not, I'm stone-cold sober. Some girl slapped my hand when I tried to get some beer." He pouted, holding out his hand as if it were a broken paw.

"Date gone bad, Finn?" Stephanie questioned, irritated at him for bringing up a girl and irritated at herself for her reaction. It didn't matter what they were or weren't, Finn was allowed to do whatever he wanted.

"Now, now, no need for jealousy," Finn teased.

"Watch it. Now, what's the peace offering?"

Finn cleared his throat, clapping his hands with glee. "Right, I have very good gossip."

Stephanie groaned. "You should have been born a woman."

Finn gasped loudly, his tone full of dramatics.

"Alright, calm down, drama princess," Stephanie said dismissively.

Finn winced at the name. "You've been watching _Queer as Folk_ again."

"Hot men," Stephanie answered. "We'll get to your gossip, but you said plural."

"Right, I also brought you a little sugar," he answered, smiling at her softly.

Stephanie looked at him curiously, a squeak coming out of her when he quickly grabbed her, pulling her into his arms, his lips on hers. Bringing her arms up, she wrapped them tightly around his neck. They could gossip later. They could fight later too, which they most likely would. Right now was about his lips, his hands on her, and the way he said her name when she bit his bottom lip.

xxx

Rory walked into her room, dead tired. After the hour from hell where she talked to her grandmother and had prevented the wake slash party from getting any bigger and Paris killing one of their schoolmates, she had gotten everyone to leave. Somewhere along the way, she had lost sight of Logan and his friends. She ignored the pang she felt at thinking about him. It was too late and she was too exhausted to think about what would have happened if her mother had not called. She knew that this was only the beginning, but for tonight, she could play her favorite role of denial. She stopped as she noticed a piece of paper on her bed. Picking it up, she started to read it, not being able to stop the smile that came with the note.

_We seem to get distracted when we try to talk. _

_We'll try again soon, Rory Gilmore. _

_It seems that last name rule is out._

_I'm glad you're still wearing the bracelet._

_Logan H_

_P.S. If the next distraction is as fun as this one, I won't mind much._

Rory's smile grew; she could just imagine the smirk he had when writing the note. So, one of their rules was out. She wondered what else would follow. Looking down at her wrist, she just sighed. The connection to their past was held by that bracelet; not knowing what their present situation would bring, Rory knew one thing: she would hold on to her memories, no matter what.

**Review please!**


	13. Ace is Born

**13. Ace is Born**

One week after the wake Rory found herself neck deep in work. With the semester officially started, her professors, plus her power hungry editor, seemed hell-bent to see her crack under the pressure of academic overload. How she could have so much work due after five little days she would never know. Deep down though, she knew that her problem wasn't her classes or the newspaper. That, she could handle. She was nothing, if not an overachiever; she could deal with the workload no matter how much she complained. What she couldn't handle was Logan, or the lack of Logan. Five days and nothing, it was as if he had just disappeared off the face of the earth. If it weren't for Paris' continuous grumbling about what she called 'the jerks that crashed her wake' named Colin and Finn, or the fact that said guys acknowledged her whenever she saw them in passing, she would allow herself to believe she had just imagined seeing Logan at Yale.

She had a plan, damnit. After a week of stressing over it, she had finally come up with the least painful, workable solution. Now if Logan would only show up for their impending talk, she could get this settled and then get to the very necessary wallowing part of the plan.

"Gilmore, I don't pay you to daydream."

Rory looked up from her screen to her editor who was leaning on her desk. "You don't pay me at all, Doyle, it's a college paper. Now, is there something I can do for you?"

"How's your story going?"

_'__Not well' _was her first thought. The excitement she had felt a few days ago when Doyle had handed her the beat she wanted to report on had started to dwindle after a few dead ends. "I have an interview later on... we'll see how it goes."

Lucky for her, Doyle seemed pleased enough with the response. "Keep me posted." He turned away from her desk only to stagger back, going pale. She looked at him confused and a little worried as, all of a sudden, the very pale small man mumbled the word 'no' repeatedly. It was as if he had seen a ghost.

Rory got up from her desk, ready to ask Doyle what was wrong when she noticed who Doyle was staring at. As she took in the new arrival, she felt her stomach drop. _'Ask and you shall receive.' _She stood in a sort of trance. It played like movie in her mind.

He noticed her standing next to her editor and she watched as a wide grin took over his mouth, amusement clear for everyone to see. His eyes betrayed his expression; they showed the surprise he was trying to hide behind his smile.

He slowly walked over to them, greeting Doyle while looking directly at her. She tuned out the exchange between both men, only being able to hear the roaring in her ears as her heart raced. It was getting ridiculous, the way she was reacting to him. In Europe, he calmed her down and made her life peaceful. Here, she was a nervous wreck every time he got within five feet of her. If anything, it reaffirmed her decision. Of course, she wasn't sure if her decision would hold up if he continued to look at her the way he did. She also wasn't sure if he started making out with her right now in front of everyone she would be able to stop herself from responding. She shook her head trying to clear it and focus, only to realize that both men were staring at her, waiting for something. Logan looked to be enjoying everything around her; in fact, he looked seconds away from laughing, while Doyle still looked ill, pale, and a bit frantic.

"Gilmore?"

"Yeah?" she asked, confused.

"I was introducing you to Logan, he'll be working here again," Doyle prompted and let out an irritated sigh when she remained silent. "I guess you didn't hear me then. Rory, this is Logan Huntzberger."

"It's okay, Doyle, Rory and I have met before," Logan said grinning, loving the wide-eye look Rory gave him. She looked just as surprised at his last name as he had been a week ago when he learned hers. He had been dreading the idea of returning to the _Yale Daily News_, right up to the second he had walked in and noticed her standing next to their editor. A reporter. Rory Gilmore, a reporter. He had to laugh, inwardly amazed; it seemed that this girl was determined to keep him guessing.

"Have you?" Doyle asked, his tone getting more and more strained. He was getting more flustered and aggravated, something Logan always found amusing. If he had to suffer through sitting in on the newspaper and Doyle's usual ass-kissing, he would be damned if he didn't find some enjoyment out of it. Not that enjoyment seemed a problem now.

"You think you could give us a minute, Doyle, Rory and I have some things to go over." It wasn't a question at all. The three of them knew that Logan had efficiently dismissed Doyle. As Doyle walked away, Rory had to stop the urge she had to grab her editor and beg him not to leave her.

"People always do what you ask?" she asked him, her tone a bit sarcastic.

Logan didn't let the question or the way she asked it bother him and answered honestly, "Usually."

"Because you're a Huntzberger," she stated, amazed. "Do you know who your father is? The great Mitchum Huntzberger."

"Well, I just call him Dad and please, when you meet him, don't call him great, his ego is bigger than mine."

"Not possible."

"Hard to believe, I know, but it's true, I'm humble compared to him." Logan grinned at the snort she let out. As he took a step closer to her, invading her personal space, he watched as the smile she had went away with his actions, but didn't let it bother him. "I haven't seen you in a week, I missed you, Ror."

Rory swallowed hard as he pushed back a strand of her hair from her face. "We have to talk, Logan."

"Yes, I do believe we have a conversation pending," Logan agreed. "Should we have it out right here or do you want to go get some coffee and talk outside?"

"Coffee, outside."

"Prefect," Logan said, smiling on the outside, while on the inside sighing. He could already tell where this conversation would go; he could tell that she had come to her own decision and that he wasn't going to like it. He also knew that during the week he had come to his own terms, and that he wasn't going to let this go. She would use common sense and rationale to try and walk away. He was using his gut instinct that told him to hold on to this for dear life. He wasn't just her Logan anymore, he was Logan Huntzberger here. He knew what he wanted and Logan Huntzberger would always get what he wanted. Taking her hand, he held her firmly, ignoring her when she tried to pull her hand away from his.

"We'll be back, Boss," he called out to Doyle, who looked a bit queasy as he popped another aspirin, just as Logan knew he would. "It's good to be back."

xxx

They walked silently through the courtyard to the small coffee cart, still hand in hand. "So, you're a reporter," Logan stated after placing their orders.

"English major, I want to be an overseas correspondent," Rory answered, taking the drink he offered.

"Ambitious," Logan said, impressed, smiling as Rory herself gave him a wide grin.

"Yeah…" Rory trailed off before clearing her throat. "Logan, I feel like I should just say this now and get it over with."

"Go ahead."

"We should forget about what happened between us. It should be left in the past and we should just go on as if we only met here," Rory blurted out quickly, not even looking at him, missing the slightly amused look he sent her way as she paced in front of him. "You understand right? It would get ugly, complicated, we could really hurt each other, we could do it and then where would we be, everything we felt would go to hell, and I don't want that. I loved our time together, I don't want it ruined and…"

Logan quickly got up when he saw that she was finally running out of steam. He had half feared that she would pass out from not taking breaths during her monologue. "You done?"

"You understand what I'm saying, right?" Rory asked, all of a sudden more tired than she ever remembered being. She was right; she would need some major wallowing. As he got up, he got close to her once more, this time wrapping his arms loosely around her small waist the same way he used to do when they were traveling together. For a moment, she allowed his closeness, allowing her head to rest on his chest the way she had so many times during the summer. It wouldn't happen again so she might as well enjoy it one last time.

"I understand, Rory," he spoke softly in her ear, and Rory felt her eyes burn with unshed tears at his words. He agreed; of course he did. He had said it many times, just as she had. Who they were would never work in the real world, and this was the real world. Still, hearing it out loud from both her mouth and his, hurt her. "I understand everything you're saying, Rory, and I hope you understand what I'm about to say. I don't agree and more importantly, I don't accept."

Rory felt like a bucket of cold water had dropped on her at his words, startling her. She looked up at him, surprised at the conviction on his face, all traces of humor gone. All that was left was open honesty and determination. She tried to break his hold, create some distance, only to have him secure his grip on her before she could actually move.

"I know you, Rory, if I let go, literally or otherwise, you'll run so fast I won't even see your dust. I need you to hear me loud and clear. I know what I said, I know what you said, but it doesn't matter. I know what I want and I know that there is a reason for us to have met up again… here," Logan tried to reason with her, knowing it wouldn't be this easy. He couldn't just tell her he wanted to be with her and have her simply agree. He remembered the way she had been in Europe, there were reasons she was closed off and this wouldn't be an easy sell. "I'm not walking away from this. I don't usually believe in fate, but there has to be a reason for us to meet here, right?"

"Logan…" she started helplessly, only to be stopped as he took her lips in his. There was nothing urgent about this kiss, it was soft, slow, and agonizingly sweet. So sweet that the tears she had been holding in before slipped past her eyelids, before she could even tell if they were tears of sadness or just plain momentary relief.

"I stand by what I say," he whispered against her lips, breaking his grip and taking a step back. "Think about it."

She stood by as he walked away from her. For once, her mind was a complete blank. Rory Gilmore the planner, the organizer, had no idea what to do next.

xxx

Her concentration was shot to hell. She'd been sitting in a messy dorm room that smelled of sweat socks, like any guy's dorm, and….nothing. Her interviewee continued to ramble on about downloading music, the whole center of her piece, and yet, she heard nothing. She only tuned in when he shouted out 'Boo-ya' at each successful download. It seemed her brain was determined to be stuck on one thing and one thing alone. Logan Huntzberger. The last name alone was throwing her for a loop. Their conversation earlier left her head just plainly spinning. Unfortunately, loops and spinning weren't what she needed right now. What she needed was to pay attention to the guy she was talking to so she could write the most boring article to have ever been written. Rory sighed and rubbed her temples. This was getting her nowhere. "Mark, can we end this for tonight? I think I have enough."

"Sure."

She smiled gratefully as she picked up her stuff. "Thanks."

"No problem."

xxx

It was close to four in the morning and Rory was nowhere near the end of her research. In the morning she knew she would regret not sleeping, but she needed to get somewhere with this new idea, the downloading story was officially out to pasture. She just hoped this would lead to somewhere.

_'__In Omnia Paratus' _That was all she had to go on. That, and one very bizarre encounter in the girls' bathroom, but already it seemed more interesting than all the facts she had on illegal music downloading. Now all she had to figure out was how to make a Latin phrase into a story.

"Easier said than done," she whispered to herself, bringing up more web pages, typing in more searches. Finally she stopped, a smile breaking through as she read what she found. "The Life and Death Brigade…"

xxx

Two days passed before Logan got to see her again. Two days filled with his own activities that didn't leave much time for him to seek her out. When he did see her, on his way to his dorm with Colin and Finn in tow, she was leaning against a pillar. As she watched him walk up to her, she flashed him a wide smile, one that he returned. He was about to greet her when her words stopped him, as he was sure they stopped his friends.

"_In Omnia Paratus_," Rory grinned. Logan was always quick with his reactions; if she didn't keep an eye out for them, she was sure that she would miss them all. "I was hoping you could help me with something, Huntzberger, your friends, too."

"Oh?" Logan questioned, looking back to Colin and Finn who both just stared at Rory.

"The Life and Brigade."

"And that is…."

"Hmm, maybe I should start from the beginning then," Rory started, waiting for a response of any kind. When she was met with silence, she continued. They weren't giving her anything, their expressions now guarded, but they sure as hell were listening. "The other night I was at one of the dorms doing an interview for my story, which is now scrapped, anyway, before I left the building I went to one of the bathrooms where a pretty, wasted blonde came in wearing a dark red ball gown and one of those plastic gorilla masks you buy at costume shops. Anyway, I followed her out, well, cause you know me, Logan, curiosity, it gets me every time."

"Oh, I know."

Rory smirked. "Yes you do, don't you. So, she gets outside and this very fancy SUV is waiting for her and she says 'in omnia paratus', which means 'ready for anything'. I know, I took Latin in high school. We even got extra credit if we said the school pledge in Latin, but I'm getting off track. So, I spent the better part of that night at the office, researching, buried under newspaper archives. You know, those things are very dusty?"

"You don't say."

"I do say," Rory answered in the same mocking tone Logan gave her. "I was just about to give up, when I found something. It linked that phrase with an old club here at Yale, a society that is almost as old as Yale itself. The 'Life and Death Brigade', kind of a 'Skull and Bones' thing. So I went looking into this club and then I found a very familiar name, Elias Huntzberger. He was linked to the club when he went to school here, and this club, it works through generations, so that means most likely, his father, his father's father, his own son, and his _grandson_ were, or are in, this club as well. And seeing as you are the grandson of Elias Huntzberger, I was hoping you could give your inside view for my story."

Logan stared at her, her gleeful expression catching. He heard everything she had said; he could tell without even turning around that Colin was likely going into an anxiety attack. Everything she'd said was right on the money and Logan couldn't help but feel a little proud of her. Rory Gilmore, she never ceased to amaze. However, in order to prevent his friend from having a meltdown, he needed to get a hold of this conversation. He schooled his features, giving her the same brilliant smile she was giving him. "That's quite a story, and the research, just wow, you are quite the Ace reporter, Rory, and I wish we could help, simply because it just sounds like one hell of a story… doesn't it, boys?"

"It sure does," Finn answered smiling at Rory, while Colin just remained quiet.

"But we have no idea about this club of yours, Rory, sorry."

Rory pouted playfully. He was lying very well, but he was still lying. "You don't? That's what I get for making assumptions. I really thought I had something going there with your grandfather being in it…I wonder if I could get an interview with him?"

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Now that would be interesting."

"Yes, it would, wouldn't it? Well, I have enough without you guys. The girl, the mask, the old article, the car, its license plate which can be tracked back to the owner… So, thanks for your time, boys," Rory said smiling at all of them. "Sorry for keeping you."

Rory started to turn around before changing her mind and walking straight up to Logan, leaning in to whisper in his ear, "I know you, you've said it yourself. One would _assume_ I know when you're lying, right? Later, Huntzberger."

Logan, Colin, and Finn watched as Rory walked out of their line of vision. Once she was out of earshot, Colin started swearing in a low voice while glaring at Logan. Finn on the other hand, started to laugh. "She's good, mate, she is bloody good."

"Fix this, Logan. Fix it now!" Colin said taking a step toward Logan, who raised his hands in surrender while smiling along with Finn.

"How?"

"I don't care how, just fix it," Colin said before stomping away.

"Any ideas?"

Logan looked at Finn and shook his head. "None. Rory will do what she wants, that much I know. What about you, any ideas?"

"One."

Logan rolled his eyes when Finn just stood there silently. "Well?"

"Invite her to one of our gatherings."

Logan's eyes widened and a surprised chuckle escaped from his lips. "You're suicidal! You want Colin to kill us?"

Finn laughed, throwing his arm over Logan's shoulder. "_In Omnia Paratus,_ mate. _In Omnia Paratus_."


	14. Inquisitions & Answers

**14. Inquisitions & Answers**

"No, no, no, a thousand times, no," Colin all but growled a few hours later as all three of them, plus Stephanie, sat in the common room of their dorm suite. "Have you lost your mind, Huntzberger?"

"Hey, it was Finn's idea," Logan explained looking over at Finn who was playing with Stephanie's hair as she tried to swat his hands away, all the while smiling at his antics and leaning on him.

"Finn drinks Vodka or champagne for breakfast and you're taking his advice. It kills brain cells," Colin responded, exasperated. "Not that he had many to begin with."

"Hey, you do the same so don't judge. Who doesn't love a mimosa?" Finn frowned before pointing at Stephanie, who by the smile on her face, was enjoying the drama. "Besides, it's her fault we're in this situation. She's the one the reporter saw. All because she can't hold her liquor, lush."

Stephanie mocked the ridiculous comment. "Hello kettle…yeah, this is pot just calling to tell you...you're black."

"Listen here, Girlie…"

"Don't do cute," Colin interrupted, annoyed, already knowing Stephanie and Finn could go on forever if they let them. "I have no time or patience for cute, we have a problem."

Finn shook his head with pity. "Could you sound more like you father, mate. Sad."

Stephanie twisted her head to the side, looking at Colin carefully. "I don't know…paranoid, neurotic, high pitched _annoying_ voice. I'd say he resembles his mother right now."

Stephanie and Finn shared identical grins while Logan coughed to cover his laughter at Colin's horrified expression. "Low blow, Steph…and you, why are you laughing, we are in this mess because of you."

Logan got up from the sofa making his way to their bar. "I thought we already established that it was Steph's fault, how am I to blame?"

"She's your girl," Colin pointed out.

Logan snorted, raising his whisky to his lips to take a gulp that made Colin wince. "Tell her that. Still doesn't explain how this is my fault by the way, it was Stephanie whom she saw."

"I still say I have no recollection of this encounter, and trust me, I have tried hard to remember. I'm the only one who hasn't met this girl," Stephanie piped in. "I'm feeling left out."

"Poor you," Colin said, his voice dry, to which Stephanie responded to by sticking her tongue out at him.

Logan shook his head preparing another drink, this time for Colin. "Colin, have a drink... remove the stick from your ass, and relax. If you think about it, inviting Rory to the next event is the best plan."

"My plan," Finn said puffing out his chest. Throwing his arm over Stephanie's shoulder, he grinned down at her. "Proud?"

Stephanie placed her hand over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes dramatically. "So proud."

"You need therapy, Huntz. You just said Finn's plan is the best plan."

"It is."

"Please," Colin scoffed, downing his drink, ignoring the burn it caused in his throat. "You just want to bed the reporter."

"If he hasn't already," Finn said slyly.

Logan glared darkly at both of them. "Watch it."

Stephanie shook her head, frowning at Colin and Finn when they shared a look and Finn mouthed the word 'defensive'.

"Now, I can tell you what I know. Rory will write this article whether we like it or not, whether we help her or not. If we do nothing, I can guarantee we will not like this article. However, if we help her, then at least we can curve it."

Colin sighed dejectedly. "You're going to do what you want anyway… aren't you, no matter what I say?"

Logan, Finn and Stephanie all smiled, and Colin once again realized that being the voice of reason in their little clique always left him outnumbered. "Don't we always?"

"Yeah, and I'm left to clean up the mess," Colin shot back at Logan's cheeky tone. "Fine, you issue the invite but set up rules, Logan… got it?"

Logan stood straight and gave Colin a salute. "Yes, sir."

"Great, _now_ I feel like both my parents."

xxx

"So, how do you know Huntzberger?"

Rory looked up from her screen, frowning when she noticed how close Doyle was to her. When had he sneaked up on her? "Excuse me?"

"Huntzberger, how do you know him? The other day you guys just left, neither of you bothered to come back."

"From around…" Rory hedged. "Why?"

"No reason, no reason," Doyle mumbled. Trying to control himself and obviously losing the battle, he continued, "Do you know who Huntzberger's father is?"

Rory rolled her eyes at the question. "Well, seeing as you say his last name in every sentence, I may have an idea of who his dad is… yes. Is there anything else, I want to finish this and leave. It's Friday, I have a family dinner."

"Don't give me sass, Gilmore."

"She wouldn't dream of it, Boss," Logan said walking up to her table carrying a tall cup of coffee on a foam tray.

Rory couldn't help but give him a small smile as he placed the coffee in front of her. "For me?"

"Elixir of life and what not," Logan dismissed with a wave of his hand while smiling as her eyes lit up.

"You are a godsend."

"I'll be sure to remind you of that in a moment," Logan teased before turning to Doyle who had remained silent. "Doyle, can Rory and I have a moment alone, I assure you it's work related. The news never sleeps, after all."

Doyle huffed but did a half turn with what seemed like military precision, leaving them alone as Logan asked.

"He doesn't like you much, does he?" Rory asked, still looking at her annoyed editor who walked out of the room.

"No, he doesn't."

"And yet, he does what you ask."

Logan shrugged at the statement. "Doyle's choice. He doesn't realize that I would respect him if he stood up for himself and called me on some of my shit, which I will admit without probing, something I can already see in your eyes you want to do, yes, I provoke him to see how far I can push him."

Rory laughed at the honest answer. "So, you just enjoy being a pain in the ass."

"I'm thinking of majoring in it," Logan shot back, enjoying their carefree banter. It was as if they were all of a sudden back in Europe, enjoying their summer and each other. This right here, this moment, was what he was holding on to: the lightness of just talking to Rory created inside him. "Doyle thinks if he's nice to me he can get ahead in his career because of who my dad is. That's what he cares about, my dad. What he doesn't seem to realize is, whether I like him or hate him, I won't affect his future in any way. He's good on his own; he doesn't need to kiss my ass. But since he doesn't get it and I have to be here anyway, might as well play with him, right?"

Rory listened, amazed by the way Logan went from joking to genuinely serious in seconds. She wondered if people were so used to the carefree guy that when he was honest and serious, they just ignored it because they didn't know what to do with it. She wondered if they even saw it at all. She placed her hand over his that lay on her table as he leaned on it. "You're more than your dad, Logan."

Logan cleared his throat, a little unnerved at the way her blue eyes bore into him. "Anyway, Ace, I wasn't lying to our dear editor, I am here to talk to you about something work related… about a certain article you're working on?"

Rory smiled in anticipation. "Then have a seat. And, Logan... _Ace_?"

Logan pulled the chair from the table next to her, placing it very close to hers. Looking around, he was grateful that the office was empty. Only one other writer was at the end corner, so involved with whatever was on his computer that he was blocking out the world around him. "That would be you, our little Ace, digging for a story. Quite the snoop you are."

"On with it, Huntzberger," Rory said dryly, rolling her eyes at the wide grin he flashed her. "And don't patronize me."

"Wouldn't dream of it. I'm just glad I have a nickname for you now. I always thought I should; _Sweetheart_ or _Honey_ seemed too common for you, and I had a feeling you wouldn't enjoy _Sugarplums_, but _Ace_ works, it's cute, it's short, it fits you, don't you think."

"I think you've lost your mind, but for the sake of moving this conversation along, let's say I agree. Continue."

"Well, I have talked it over with my associates and we have come up with a solution to this tiny impasse we might be in with each other."

Rory smirked at his words. "Impasse indeed. And by associates, you mean fellow brigadiers. Colin and Finn caved, did they?"

Logan shot her a look. "Don't get cocky, Ace, this helps both sides. You'll get your story, with a lot more juicy details than your computer will ever give you, but we get to decide what you learn. There will be rules of course, you interested?"

"Continue."

"An invitation has been extended, you'll join us in an outing. We get to choose which one. We'll give information when we are ready, you will follow all the rules to the letter. And at the end, I get to proofread your article to see that you have followed through."

"What are the other conditions?"

Logan shook his head. "You don't get to find that out until we get there. The first condition though, is you have to decide right now. This offer is off the table the second I walk out the door. What do you say, Ace… you in or out?"

Rory watched him quietly. This was as much as an inside scoop she would get. The fact was that she had very little to write about if she didn't agree, but the half smile on Logan's face that turned into a smirk full of wicked amusement told her he wouldn't make it easy on her, she was going to have to work for it. When he started to get up, she quickly followed, placing both hands on his to stop him.

"In or out?" he whispered staring at her, that damn smile still in place, the baiting behind the words clear for anyone who was listening. All of a sudden, Rory realized that there was more meaning in the question, more than just the story. Still, having made up her mind she didn't hesitate any longer.

"I'm in."

Logan smiled widely, enjoying the determined glint in her eyes and the stubborn slant of her chin; it took all that was in him not to kiss her. Still not being able to completely control the urge he always had of touching her, he leaned into her ear, placing a small kiss underneath it, enjoying the small shiver that passed through her body.

"Perfect, we'll be in touch, Ace. See ya."

The contact clouded her mind long enough that she didn't acknowledge his parting words or his departure. _'What am I getting myself into?'_

xxx

"Grandma, the goose is very good."

"Yeah, Mom, goosey."

Rory looked down at her plate, hiding her smile at the small glare Emily sent her mom's way.

"Thank you, Rory," Emily said smiling at her granddaughter. "So tell me, Rory, how is your second year at Yale going?"

"Hmm, good, classes, work, newspaper, articles due soon," Rory answered after taking a sip of her water. "You know, busy, but good."

"And are you making friends?"

"Yeah…sure."

Emily nodded before continuing her question, "Anyone special?"

Rory's eyes widened at the question and she looked over at her mom who just smiled cheekily while bobbing her eyebrows. Clearly no help there. "Special? No, Grandma, not in the way you're implying, I'm not dating anyone."

Emily shook her head in understanding, looking at both Lorelai and Rory while smiling a tight smile. "Well, you will tell us if you meet someone won't you, unlike some people who start dating diner owners and don't tell their mother."

Lorelai coughed as she tried to swallow a baby carrot. Rory shot her an amused look, relieved that for the moment, the heat was off her.

"How in…." Lorelai started to ask, only to trail off, her face the picture of confused. When she looked at her daughter, Rory just shook her head.

"Don't look at me."

"Rory didn't tell me," Emily answered the unfinished question. "So, Lorelai, how is Luke?"

"He's good," Lorelai said tentatively.

"Good," Emily said with a satisfying smile that worried both Lorelai and Rory. "So he should be willing to come to dinner here within the week."

"Mom."

"Before the next Friday night dinner, Lorelai," Emily cut Lorelai off, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Well, now that that's done, I'll go check on the last course."

"You laugh, Rory, and I'm throwing a baby carrot at you."

Rory simply grinned and ate another bite of her food. "I'm not saying a word."

xxx

Bottles and food were scattered around the table, chatter buzzed around him, but Logan tuned it all out. His friends, their talking, and laughter, were all on mute. Rory. All he could wonder about was what she was doing. Friday nights always involved dinner at some restaurant for him and his friends, but what about her. He had heard when she told Doyle she had a family dinner; he wondered if that involved her grandparents. It amazed him how he knew so much and felt so much around Rory, and yet, if he thought about it, he didn't know anything at all. All he knew was how her eyes and her smile made his days lighter. He knew her smell, her touch, her taste and it was enough, for now.

"You are miles away, you okay?"

Logan turned his head to his left and smiled down at the pretty blonde. "I'm fine, Steph."

"Liar," Stephanie whispered playfully, looking over his shoulder where couples swayed softly on the dance floor. "Come on and dance with me, Huntz, let's get you out of your funk."

"Your date won't mind?" Logan asked, already getting up and offering her a hand.

Stephanie looked at the man beside her that turned and smiled when Logan asked the question. "Finn has two left feet… he'll step on my toes."

"Take her, mate, before she nags."

"Jerk."

Logan smiled at the pair before leading Stephanie away from the table. "You guys are entertaining."

"We try," Stephanie chuckled. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he circled his loosely around her small waist.

"How's that going?"

Stephanie gave him a simple shrug. "I can't really tell you because I have no clue. We haven't talked about anything cause…well, you know me and Finn, we talk, and we fight."

"But something is going on between you guys?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes at Logan's amused tone. "Yes, nosy, something, a very undefined something, but a something nonetheless."

"Keep me posted," Logan said smiling down at her, glad that his friends were getting somewhere. For days now, Finn and Stephanie seemed to be getting along, enjoying each other's company. Always bantering and teasing, but also smiling at each other when they thought people weren't paying attention, acting closer than they had ever allowed themselves to be.

"Will do," Stephanie answered perkily. "Now, what's going on with you, your reporter, and that stupid dreamy gaze you've been carrying around?"

Logan laughed out loud at her choice of words. "Stupid dreamy gaze, me?"

"I know, I wouldn't have believed it either," Stephanie said with a wide-eyed look, trying to pass off as innocent and failing miserably, causing both to laugh. "If I hadn't seen it myself… So spill it out already, I've been very patient and that's not my forte as you well know. So tell me about this girl. What's the story?"

Logan sighed knowing that he would have to talk about it sooner or later, and that in the end, he would go to Steph to talk about it anyway. The guys would joke and tease; Stephanie would tease too, it was her specialty, but she would offer advice, whether he wanted it or not.

"It's quite the story, might take more than one dance."

"Well, it's a good thing you haven't stepped on my toes yet, let's start it off. Does once upon a time work for you?"

Logan smirked. Teasing right on time. "It's a little more modern than that."

"Ohhhh," she mocked, before sighing. "Alright already, just spill it out."

"Rory the reporter, Rory Gilmore," Logan started, pausing for a moment when Stephanie nodded in understanding. "I know her from before."

"Yeah, we figured that much," Stephanie answered. "Did you meet her last year, before our year off?"

"I know her from this summer."

Stephanie looked at him confused. "This summer? This summer you were in…"

"Europe," Logan finished for her. "Rory and I met in Spain. She was traveling with her grandmother, we hit it off, so off, that I followed her through Europe for the summer."

Stephanie looked at him, amazed. Of all the things she expected, that wasn't it. Sure, Logan had been weird when he came back from his trip, but this was unexpected. "You followed a stranger through Europe, why?"

"She's special, Steph, I didn't want to stop seeing her," Logan explained, rolling his eyes at his own sappy words and at the smile Stephanie sent his way. "Anyway, from Spain we went to France, from France to Italy. We started off as friends, just hanging out, doing the tourist thing and things…progressed. The only thing is that we didn't share details about our lives."

"Meaning?"

"No last names, not where we're from, where we went to school, none of that."

Stephanie blinked. "That's why you were so surprised when you saw her here."

Logan smiled dryly. "I see the boys have kept you updated."

"You kidding? If Finn doesn't gossip, he's likely to die. It's like air to him."

Logan laughed, losing his step for a moment.

"You almost stepped on me," Stephanie accused lightly, before turning serious. "So what happens with the girl now?"

"I'm working on that. Rory believes we can't work here, and I guess she has a point to believe that, but I know what I want and I'm not giving up on this."

"Logan Huntzberger, ready for commitment?" Stephanie asked. When she didn't get a denial, only a nod, her mouth opened. "Well, I'll be damned."

"She's special."

"No kidding, now I can't wait to meet her," Stephanie teased. "I can tell her Logan stories. I bet she would like that."

Logan shook his head. "Turning on me already and you haven't even met her."

"Girls got to stick together, Huntz. It's survival."

"You'll meet her soon enough, the invitation has been issued after all."

"Can't wait."

xxx

Rory felt silly. It was the only way to describe how someone hanging out by their dorm in broad daylight, with a blindfold on, should feel like. Silly, ridiculous, and a little scared of what she was about to do. After arriving home at the end of her family dinner, she had discovered a note attached to her window.

_Wednesday, 4pm, outside your hallway. _

_Wear the blindfold._

_LDB_

Direct and to the point. Well, it was Wednesday, it was 4 pm, she was outside wearing a blindfold, and feeling like an idiot. "The things I do for a story."

"Indeed," was whispered into her ear.

"Logan."

"That would be me," Logan answered taking her hand, smiling at the picture she presented. "So, you ready, Ace? Because you can back out if you want, right now, so… ready?"

"Ready for anything," Rory said more boldly than she felt.

Logan smiled broadly at her response. This would be a good night. "Well then, let's get started. _In Omnia Paratus_, Rory, hope you enjoy the ride."

A/N: So I'm sorry guys it's taking me a while to get things out, I have a new job and am now working the seven days so my computer time is limited. Anyway this is where I stopped years ago but not to worry cause chapter 15 will be up next Wednesday. Review please it makes me happy. Thanks!


	15. The Worlds of Alice and Wendy

**A/N: So here it is a NEW chapter, while I doubt it I hope it was worth the wait for the people who started this story years ago. **

**15. The Worlds of Alice and Wendy**

The Life and Death Brigade knew how to throw a party, not that Rory was all too familiar with partying. Growing up, her slightly geeky, introverted self had steered clear of this youthful ritual in favor of her world of books. But standing now in the middle of the woods with white tents and candles everywhere, even she realized that this was no simple chips-and-dips affair. So much for the stale cheetos she had pictured!

Taking the role of observer, which was most comfortable for her, she watched pretty girls in breezy white dresses and handsome men in pressed white suits and safari hats. The world of privilege: a world she was a part of in name only but didn't really understand. She had lost sight of the others not shortly after they arrived at the campsite. The car ride had been interesting to say the least, but while Logan's blindfold robbed her of her sight which had limited her, her hearing was in perfect condition, leaving her to get a small insight into Logan's life.

xxx

**_Rory tripped over her foot as she climbed into the back seat of a car, turning her head, she murmured something not so nice in Logan's general direction when his hands found her hips, steadying her. Sitting down somewhere in the middle, she felt Logan slid next to her and reached over, pulling her seat belt in place._

"_Don't expect me to say thank you." She said, disgruntled._

"_Wouldn't dream of it, Ace." He answered, the laughter coloring his words, annoying her further as his playfulness made her stomach jump._

"_You can flirt on your own time, Logan. Right now you need to make sure her blindfold is in place, discretion is vital."_

"_It's fine! Relax." Logan answered._

"_Hi Colin." She responded, at the same time turning her head._

"_She can see, Logan!" Colin said, exasperated as Logan chuckled._

"_No, I can hear and I recognize your voice."_

"_She's smart, Logan." Said an amused female voice in front of her. Rory faced where she knew Logan was, "Who's she?"_

"_I've been told we've met in a bathroom, I have no recollection of this."_

"_Ah, gorilla girl."_

"_Gorilla girl? Cute, you can also call me Stephanie."_

"_I'll make a note," Rory answered. "So you, Colin, Stephanie, where is Finn?"_

_Before Logan answered, Rory got a groan from the front._

"_Finn is our driver for the day."_

"_What's wrong with him? He sounds in pain."_

"_It's early for him."_

"_It's four in the afternoon."_

"_The sun," said an accented voice. "It's too bloody bright, we need a darker sun."_ **

xxx

"Hey, Ace, having fun?"

Rory turned her head and watched as Logan now out of his jeans and leather jacket approached her, dressed in the same white suit as the others. She looked down at her dark pants and green sweater and felt underdressed.

"I'm having a grand occasion," Rory responded as he sat down next to her on the fallen tree trunk she had found away from the gathering, allowing her to collect her thoughts and scribble down notes. "No _E_'s."

Logan smiled at her proud proclamation. "No _E_'s, good to see you getting into the spirit of things."

"There were two _E_'s in that sentence." Rory pointed out.

"I'm a rebel." Logan quipped, earning a smile from her. "Sooo…what do you think?"

"I'm impressed, I had no idea it would be this grand."

Logan nodded in agreement. "We really don't know how to do small."

"But this isn't all of it, is it… there's more?" Rory asked, continuing when all she got was a teasing grin. "My research says you guys always have a big stunt."

"Then you should trust your research," Logan said, standing up and offering his hand to her. "Things are starting to slow down, come with me and I'll show you where you're staying."

Rory looked up at him and then his offering, before placing her hand in his, allowing him to guide her where he wanted.

xxx

"Goldilocks…..Goldilocks, where are you?"

Stephanie watched, covered by darkness as a drunken Finn stumbled a few feet away from her, presumably looking for her. She had left him to his drinking and flirting as more and more girls tried to draw his attention away from her. Finally fed up, she had walked away before he could persuade her otherwise.

"There you are, Sweetheart." Finn slurred as he found her. "Why did you run off?"

"I got bored being part of your entourage." Stephanie answered as nonchalantly as she could, knowing she failed when he shot her a wickedly amused smirk. Trying to avoid his teasing, she made a move to leave only to be blocked by a fast moving Finn, standing in front of her.

"You're not drunk." She accused as he placed his hands at her hips and pushed her back softly onto the tree she had been leaning on.

"Whatever gave you the idea I was?" He asked innocently and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, his lips following the path his hand took.

She allowed his caress for a moment, loving the way his stubble rasped her soft skin, the way his hand clenched and unclenched at her waist. "Go back to your masses, Finn." She said quietly as he pulled back and his lips hovered over hers. "I'm not one of your groupies."

"I know that, Luv." He answered softly, placing a kiss at the corner of her mouth and another and another.

She whispered his name as his mouth settled over hers, his lips soft against hers, her hand took hold of his unruly dark locks, pulling him down to compensate for his height and her shortness. She moaned softly as he deepened the kiss, his tongue playing with hers, his thigh pressing between her legs, driving her crazy.

"Finn…please."

He broke the kiss and grinned at her soft, hazy look. "I knew you'd give in, Luv."

As her face turned hard and her big eyes flashed darkly, he knew he stepped into it this time. Crap.

xxx

"And this is your tent. It isn't the Ritz but it has the basics." Logan said, pulling back the tent's opening, allowing Rory in, stepping in behind her.

"Cot, washbasin, water, towels, candles and …" Logan continued reaching into his jacket's breast pocket. "… toothbrush."

"Thank you." Rory said, taking the toothbrush from his hand. "You think of everything, really, this has all been amazing, Logan. I feel like Alice in Wonderland or maybe like Wendy."

"If you go with Alice I want to be the Mad Hatter and if you go with Wendy then I have to be Peter Pan," Logan said, laughing.

"Of course." She answered in the same laughing manner before her tone took a serious turn. "Your world is so different from mine."

"Rory." He started taking in her almost sad face, closing the gap between them, he held her face in his hands and watched as she closed her eyes as his thumb drew circles on her cheek.

'ASSHOLE!'

Rory's eyes opened wide as he closed his, groaning in defeat, he rested his forehead against hers as more curse words came from outside her tent. Sometimes he hated his friends.

"That sure had an _E_." Rory joked weakly as she pulled back. "What was that?"

"The Stephanie and Finn comedy hour." Logan responded beyond frustrated. "I'm going to kill them. Slowly."

"You should go and see what's up."

"Rory…" His argument died as he saw her determined face. "Fine, I'll see you in the morning."

Walking over to her again, he brushed his lips over her forehead before she could stop him. Heading for the opening of the tent, he stopped and looked at her. "For the record, you can belong to this world if you want and if you don't, we can create a new world…..one that's just our own."

**A/N: Review it makes me happy! Also I plan on working the Yale male party into the story, I have a pretty good idea what to write but if anyone has any ideas they want to throw out there leave them in the reviews and I'll see what I can work in.**


	16. Beer, Court Jesters and Zippers

**16. Beer, Court Jesters and Zippers**

Rory Gilmore woke up to a streak of light filtering through the opening of her tent, hitting her directly in the face. Lifting her wrist up close, she shot a bleary eye at her watch. Fifteen to six, someone up high hated her. With the shouting outside and her mother's frantic call about her grandparents' apparent Machiavellian plot to break her and Luke up had been well into two in the morning by the time she had managed to talk Lorelai down and get some sleep.

_** "She gave Luke beer… beer, Rory, B-E-E-R, beer!"_

"_So what you are saying is she gave him beer?"_

"_YES!"_

_Rory pulled her cell phone away from her ear, wincing as her mother screamed. "She gave Luke beer, Luke who happens to like beer….you're right… evil."_

"_And Dad invited Luke to play golf," Her mother continued, ignoring Rory's sarcastic tone. "He's probably planning on burying Luke in one of the links."_

"_Mom, this is Grandpa, he would hire someone to do that." _

"_Rorrrry!" Lorelai whined._

_Rory sighed at her mother's petulant pitch. "Mom, relax, they are just being nice."_

"_HA!"_

"_And," Rory continued as if her mother hadn't interrupted. "Even if they aren't being nice and are planning something, they can't break you guys up. It took you guys years to get it together, you and Luke are solid, just remember the horoscope." _

_Rory had listened to her mother ramble on dreamingly about her first date with the diner-owner and the famous horoscope. She smiled at the happy tone her mother's voice took, enjoying the story even when she had heard it already. She made sure to cut her off, however, when her mother started to enter the more amorous parts of the night. **_

"Are you awake?"

Rory startled out of her thoughts at the deep voice, looking over to her feet, she found Logan sitting on the edge of her cot, smiling cheekily at her.

"How long have you been in here?" Rory questioned as she sat up, running her hand quickly over her hair, sure that it must look like a bird's nest.

Leaning over, he brushed a wisp of hair out off her face. "A while, I've been trying to wake you up, but you are a real sound sleeper."

"It's early, plus you and your friends were acting out a scene from _Days of our Lives_ outside till early in the morning." She said sourly. "I'm surprise you're awake."

"No rest for the wicked." Logan answered, ignoring her displeasure that seemed to grow with his cheeriness. Standing up, he picked up the cup he had placed on the small table in the tent when he had first come in. "I come bearing a gift but only if you give me a smile."

She shot him a glare that simply caused him to start laughing as he squatted down to be at eye-level with her, leaning in close, he smiled as her eyes widen at his proximity. "Come on, Ace, one little smile and you can have the coffee."

"Logan," she warned in her most serious voice but found herself cracking as she looked at him and flashed him a smile.

"There we go," he said happily, standing up again, but not before placing a quick kiss on the side of her face. Before she could question his action, he went to pick up the large box that he had placed on the table with the coffee and put it on her bed. "Here you go, you need to clean up and put this on. We're going to be late if we don't get a move on."

"Put on? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You would compromise the integrity of the event, which you promised not to do." Logan answered by the opening of the tent, the light from outside allowing Rory to really take him in, finding him in a fancy tux.

"You look good in a tux." She blurted out and blushed as he smiled at her.

"You look good sleeping," Logan answered, enjoying how her blush deepened. "I wish I had seen that in Italy."

"Logan…"

Logan sighed. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry…" Rory began. "I'm sorry I left that night, I just thought I wouldn't have been able to leave you if I had woken up with you, in your arms."

"I _know_ I wouldn't have let you go if we had woken up together." Logan said quietly. "Get dressed, I'll be outside if you need help."

xxx

Logan took a deep breath as he stood outside. "Jesus", he thought, he was in deep. The soft look she had given him provided him with a small sense of hope that her resolve was weakening and that it had taken everything inside him not to kneel at her feet and beg.

"Waiting by fair lady's window?"

Logan turned at the sound of his Aussie friend. "Tents don't have windows, Finn."

Finn rolled his eyes at his friend playing dumb. "Still playing innocent when it comes to the reporter, I see."

Logan laughed. "Still in the dog house with Stephanie?"

"Deflecting," Finn teased. "At least I'm getting somewhere with my Goldilocks."

"Yeah," Logan agreed mockingly. "Steph wanting to go at your gonads with a butter knife is exactly what I want from my relationship with Rory."

"Are you admitting you want and or have a relationship with Rory and does it involve your gonads in any way?" Finn inquired, smirking when he was met with a glare.

"Gross!" Finn and Logan turned to find Rory standing behind them, a stern look on her pretty face as she placed a hand on her hip, while the other held the gown she had on to her chest.

"You look smashing, Luv!" Finn exclaimed, giving her a friendly once over. "Blue is your color."

Rory trying to remain serious, found out that like Logan, his friends seemed to have a way of breaking past her sternness and gave him a smile. "Thanks, I need help with the zipper, though."

"I would offer my services to help fair ladies as yourself in and out of dresses, but I believe Heir Huntzberger here would have my head if my hand ever touches you, so I leave you in his capable hands, but no hanky panky. Colin will pitch a fit if you guys are late for opening ceremonies."

Logan rolled his eyes as his dramatic friend made his exit, bowing before both of them. "Every court needs a jester."

"And he's yours." Rory finished. "Would you?"

"Yeah," Logan answered, swallowing hard as she turned her back to him, showing him a large amount of silky porcelain skin. With hands shaking in a way they had never before, Logan took the tiny zipper at the small of her back and slowly trailed upward, enjoying the feel of her soft back and the way goose bumps rose as his fingers passed over it. Finishing with the zipper, Logan took a step closer, his front brushing with her back, his hands going to her tiny waist, pulling her until she was pressed against him.

"Ror," He whispered against the column of her neck, placing soft wet kisses on her flushed skin when she leaned her head to the side, giving him more access. "I've missed you."

"Logan," She sighed, her eyes closing as he sucked on the pressure point where her neck and shoulder met. Giving in, she turned around in his arms and looked into his brown eyes, eyes filled with the same want she was sure hers reflected. The want wasn't what made her act though, it was the fear of her rejection swirling around in there that made her close the gap between them and kiss him.


	17. Jump Rose

A/N: Not sure if Finn had a last name on the show, here he's Watsford.

**17. Jump, Rose**

"Welcome all to The Hundred and Eighth Assembly of the Honorable Life and Death Brigade," Colin proclaimed, champagne flute raised up high.

"And thank you to all who could come together on time unlike Logan who likes to make an entrance by being late." Colin finished, shooting his friend an annoyed expression which was answered with a mocking smile and bow. "Lord, anyway, please raise your glasses and join me_… In Omnia Paratus._"

"_IN OMNIA PARATUS_!"

"_In Omnia Paratus_," Rory repeated, turning to Logan and linking her arm with his as they drank.

Logan smiled as Rory wrinkled her nose a little at the bubbles; his smile grew at her blush as he stared at her for too long. "Ready for anything?"

"What…" Rory started but stopped as a giant gong rang out. "What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, never ask one of these boys that, unless you are ready for trouble," said a soft, amused voice behind them. Turning around, Rory found Stephanie steps away from her with a bouncing Finn at her heel.

"Made up yet?"

Stephanie raised an eyebrow at Logan's question, shrugging off the arm Finn tried to place around her shoulder. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Come on, Luv, you know I was only joking."

"Bite me, Watsford."

Finn leered at Stephanie, ignoring the glare she was sending his way or the way Logan shook his head. "Just tell me where, Sweetheart."

Logan quickly stepped in between his friends, pushing his clueless friend away from the small blonde girl who seemed to have steam coming out of her ears. "Buddy, they've set up human skeet, let's go play."

Finn stared at Stephanie for a moment, sighing when she didn't lose the scowl on her face. "I want to be the target."

"You're always the target, Finn," Logan joked, taking his friend away as he turned to Rory and mouthed 'later'.

Rory nodded in response and turned to the pretty blonde in the pink gown. "Soo…."

"Ugh! He drives me crazy, you know!" Stephanie ranted.

"Uh...Sure."

"He's just one of those guys," Stephanie continued. "The kind of guy that you want to kill half the time, but then they flash that stupid charming smile and they expect you to melt!"

"And it sucks because even when you don't want to, you totally do." Rory finished for her knowingly.

"Yeah, exactly," Stephanie let out a tired chuckle as she sat at a nearby table reaching for two empty glasses and another bottle of champagne. "You do understand, you are dating the king of them."

Rory smiled as she accepted the glass. "Well, Logan hasn't done anything that makes me want to kill him but he does flash that million-dollar smile to get his way."

Stephanie narrowed her eyes, a sly smile working its way onto her face. "So you admit, you're dating Logan?"

Rory's eyes flashed in surprise, thinking back at what she had just declared. "I… Sneaky!"

Stephanie laughed again, this time in delight. "Guilty! Sorry, but I've been dying, wanting to know more about you."

"What do you know?" Rory questioned.

Stephanie bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. "I know about Europe, as far as I know, I'm the only one Logan has told, it's quite the fairytale story."

"Yeah…," Rory hedged.

Stephanie placed her hand over Rory's, hoping to lift some of her discomfort. "He's a great guy you know, over half of the girls here are trying to get him but Logan's never been a focused guy when it comes to one girl, until now. I've never seen him look at a girl the way he's been looking at you. I think you're special to him."

Rory gave her a small smile, feeling the girl's words wash over her, leaving her warm all over. "I… thank you, Stephanie."

"You're welcome," Stephanie smiled, getting up again, pulling Rory to her feet and intertwining their arms together. "You and I are going to get along great; it's about time I get a girl to play with."

Rory laughed at the comment as she allowed herself to be pulled to the game areas.

xxx

"She's too bloody sensitive." Finn grumbled as he looked through the lens of his gun. "PULL."

"Finn."

"She is! Mate, I was joking and she had to get all serious," Finn continued as he set up his next shot.

"PULL!"

"Maybe she's tired of you guys joking," Logan reasoned, watching as his friend hit the fly body square in the chest. "Maybe she wants to get serious."

Finn looked at his friend, bewildered. "Did you just say that?"

"Look, Finn," Logan started as he took the gun from him. "I know that we don't mention you and Stephanie and your weird masochistic mating dance and after this, I'll gladly go back to acting like we all don't know about you guys but it's time to shit or get off the pot."

"She…"

"She's someone we all care about, someone you care about. She isn't some nameless redhead at the pub. If you want to be with her, man up, and if you don't, then tell her already and leave it alone because you guys are just going to hurt each other if you continue down this road."

Finn looked at his friend helplessly lost for words. "Colin, he and Stephanie…"

Logan shook his head. "Colin is not the issue and you know it, he doesn't care about you guys being together, he cares about her but he's not in love with her, they haven't been that way in a long time."

Finn sighed but remained silent.

"Just think about it." Logan finished. "You should go take your turn as the target."

Finn nodded as he started to walk away. "Tell the lot not to aim for my face, it's my money maker."

"No promises," Logan shot back, giving his friend an easy grin which Finn returned. Taking his eyes off Finn he focused on his new target, lining up his shot. "PULL!"

"Nice shot."

Logan smiled as he felt Rory at his side as he pulled once more.

"Thanks." He answered as he turned to her.

"So is this your big stunt?"

"I don't know," Logan replied, looking around innocently. "Does it look like a big stunt?"

Rory huffed as he mocked her but smiled as he looked at her cheekily. "I'm guessing no."

"Then you've answered your own question," Logan took a step back and came behind her as he handed her the gun. "Your turn."

Rory looked at the gun in her hand and then at the boy a few feet in front of her waiting on her word. "I don't know how, besides, is it safe?"

"For the one doing the shooting, sure."

"Logan."

"Its fine," He took a step closer, his hands going to her arms, lifting them up. Reminiscent of earlier, his breath brushed against her skin as he spoke softly, the warmth of his body burning her from the inside out. "You just raise your gun to shoulder level, keep your eye on the target and when you are ready, call out 'pull' and remember to breathe."

Rory took a deep breath that shuttered as he placed his hands on her waist, pulling her against him until not even a breeze could pass between them.

"Breathe, Rory," He whispered, his lips barely dancing on her naked shoulder.

"PULL!" Rory watched as her target landed on a blue mat, his crisp white tux shirt now with bits of splattered green paint and smiled widely, something she could feel Logan doing as he kissed her shoulder once more.

"Not bad, Ace, not bad at all."

Rory turned around in his arms and laughed as Logan gave her a look full of mischief. "Don't think I don't know what you are doing, Huntzberger."

"What am I doing, Gilmore?" Logan asked, taking a mock serious tone at her semi-serious one.

"You are breaking my defenses down with all the touching."

"Breaking, huh, not trying to break but actually breaking?" Logan asked, smiling as her cheeks became flushed. "I'm succeeding?"

Rory opened her mouth to respond when a groan broke them apart, looking over she watched as two brigadiers carried a stretcher with a moaning Finn on it.

Rory gasped as Logan let out a frustrated moan of his own. "What happened?"

"I missed the mat," Finn wheezed out.

"Again?" Logan asked with a chuckle that turned into a grunt as Rory elbowed him on the stomach.

"Can we get you anything, Finn?" Rory asked worriedly.

"Thanks, Luv, I'll be fine," Finn answered, flashing a smile and then winced when the two guys started to move again, walking away from Rory and Logan. "Don't worry about me. _In Omnia_!"

Logan stared after his friend, amused and then looked back at Rory who was giving him a look. "Told you, it was safe for the ones doing the shooting."

xxx

"I see you missed the mat again."

Finn cracked an eye open, finding Stephanie by the opening of the tent Mark and Ben had placed him in, he took in her stands: her crossed arms, the pursing of her lips, the way her pretty brown eyes narrowed as she looked at him. He smiled softly as he heard an undertone of worry in her words. "You're pretty when you're mad."

"Then I must be pretty to you every time I'm around you," Stephanie retorted, walking further into the tent, sitting on a chair by his cot.

"Not always."

Stephanie raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I'm not always pretty?"

"No," Finn said as he sat up. "You're not always mad around me… you're always beautiful, though."

Stephanie shook her head at his soft words and sighed as he pulled her chair until their knees pressed together. She simply looked at him as he took her hands in his. "You drive me crazy, Finn."

"I know." He brushed one of her curls away from her forehead. "I'm sorry about last night; it was a stupid thing to say."

"We both seem to have that habit when it comes to the other."

"I'm going to try harder, Luv, I swear," He said as he leaned over, his lips hovering over her, his breath coming out in pants as he watched her lick her lips. "Just…forgive me."

Stephanie removed her hands from under his, placing them at the back of his neck as she shot out of her chair straddling his legs. Perched on his lap, she whispered his name against his mouth and kissed him, a thrill shooting up her spine as Finn gripped her waist anchoring her to him.

xxx

Rory Gilmore leaned against a tree as she looked up the huge scaffold set up in the field, a sense of dread and wonder filling her as she watched four people at the very top.

"Hope you're thinking up superlatives."

Rory looked at Logan as he came to stand next to her. "What are they doing?"

"What do you think they're doing?"

Rory's eyes widened as she looked up again. "They're not going to jump."

"They're going to jump!" Logan said, laughing as her already big eyes got bigger.

"They'll die, Logan." She exclaimed, attracting the attention of some.

Logan shrugged, enjoying her reaction. "We all have to die someday."

"Yeah, but those four," she said pointing up. "Today!"

"Six."

"Excuse me?"

"Six," Logan looked up at his fellow brigadiers. "I'm heading up."

"And Finn was suppose to go up, too," Logan continued. "So there's an extra spot."

Rory nodded along until she realized the way he was looking at her, the smile on his lips and started to shake her head. "No!"

"And we are not going to die, no one in the Life and Death Brigade has ever died. Old one's have."

"You," Rory pointed at him. "Are crazy if you think you can get me up there."

"Ror," Logan began, amused as she took a step back when he went to grab her hand. "It's perfectly safe, you know I would never put you in danger, don't you want a little adventure in your life?"

Rory crossed her arms. "What does that mean?"

Knowing that he was making her defensive, he took another step and placed his hands on her shoulder, making sure she was looking into his eyes. "Look, you don't have to, but I think this could be good for you. When I met you, you were so closed off. This is a chance to try something new, something crazy, maybe even a little stupid but something different. Isn't that the point of being young? People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute, you climb up there with me and it's one less minute you haven't lived."

Rory remained quiet as he gave her his passionate speech, knowing that she agreed before even opening her mouth. "I'm not a fan of ladders."

Logan smiled as he held her hand and guided her over to the scaffold and helped her climb. "They scare the crap out of me, too."

"High," Rory stammered as they reached the top. "We are very high."

Logan chuckled as he took his place next to her; allowing himself to be strapped with a safety belt, he watched as Seth did the same with Rory. "Rory, this is Seth the genius behind all of this."

"It's totally safe," Seth assured her as he wrapped a beige band around her waist. "We did a dozen successful drops; every potato came through without a scratch."

"POTATOES!" Rory screeched, glaring at Logan.

Logan simply smiled sheepishly at her, taking her hand. "You can't test on people that would be dangerous!"

"Logan!"

Logan squeezed her hand softly. "You trust me?"

Rory sighed. "You jump, I jump, Jack."

"Well then," Logan squeezed her hand once more, taking a step forward when the crowd of people yelled out '_In Omnia Paratus'_. "Jump, Rose."

Rory took a deep breath and then felt nothing; there was no solid ground below her feet, just air rushing around her with Logan's hand holding her close to him. She closed her eyes and let out a surprised joyful laugh. Sooner than she wanted, they landed. She opened her eyes, locking them with Logan. Dimly, she heard everyone around them cheering, but her focus was on Logan: his smile, the way his eyes shined as he looked at her proudly. She found herself laughing once more as he gave her a quick kiss.

"You did good, Ace!"

"A once in a lifetime experience!"

He leaned his forehead against hers and breathed deeply as her eyes closed again at his nearness. "Only if you want it to be, Rory… only if you want it to be."

REVIEW PLEASE!


	18. Threats and Scheming Gilmores

**18. Threats and Scheming Gilmores **

Rory Gilmore, Logan decided as he sat at his desk across from hers, had lightning fingers and scary focus. He had been watching her type away at her computer for the last ten minutes since he had walked into the Yale newsroom and not once had she raised her head. Trying to not feel put out, he took the time to let his eyes enjoy the view. Her pretty brown locks up in a messy bun, her beautiful face clean except for the hint of pink lip gloss. Growing up in privilege, he had always been around girls dressed and done up to the nines. Rory, however, was the first girl he knew who didn't have to try; her natural look was enough to knock him on his ass. He watched as her big bright blue eyes moved quickly over her words, her mouth moving up as she smiled at what she was reading. Pretty sure that she was working on her article of the event, a part of him worried that she was so amused with her own musing. Was she comparing them to _Alice in Wonderland_ or _Peter Pan_?

"Stalker much?"

Logan looked up at the girl next to his desk, looking at him sternly. Having met her in passing before, he knew that that seemed to be the way her otherwise pretty face always looked. "Hi Geller."

"Huntzberger." She nodded. "You know the old saying is true… Take a picture, it will last you longer."

Logan smiled, amused. "You are a delight, truly. Is there something you want from me or are you just here to be a protective roommate?"

"I need you to pass on a message to that idiot friend of yours."

Logan frowned, as horrible as it sounded, she could be talking about anyone. He loved his friends but he was pretty sure Paris would find all of them to be idiots.

" model wannabe without the accent." Paris expanded.

Logan nodded in understanding. "You know Colin?"

"Unfortunately." Paris answered, irritated. "We have Poli Sci together and our hack professor decided to be whimsical and picked names out of a hat to pair people up for a survey research. I got stuck with McCrae, which would have never happened if it had been alphabetical."

Logan started to smile, amused remembering a conversation he had had a day earlier, putting the pieces together. Raising his hand to cover his smile with a fake cough, he waited for Paris to continue but she only folded her arms and stared at him accusingly, like it was his fault she was stuck with Colin for a partner. "The message, Paris?"

Paris narrowed her eyes and leaned in such a way that privately caused Logan a moment of apprehension. The girl might be small but she sure was scary. "The message is that if that slacker thinks he's going to stiff me with all the work, he's got another thing coming. We were supposed to get together to work out a plan on Wednesday and he never showed up. He would be smart to _never_ do that again. Got it or do you need me to write it down for you?"

His poor bastard friend, Logan thought. "Got it."

Paris smiled, but there was nothing nice behind it. "Good, I'll leave you to your staring and drooling of my roommate."

Logan rolled his eyes at her smug tone. "Thank you so much."

"No problem." She said, ignoring his sarcasm and walked to the door, leaving. "By the way, Huntzberger, Rory is my friend. A girl like me doesn't have that many of those, you hurt her and they'll never find your body."

Logan swallowed hard as she stared him down, her hand on the knob. "At least not all the pieces."

Logan stared at the door long after the dirty-blond left, her words ringing in his ears. While he had no intention of hurting Rory, the threat still had the desired effect, leaving him with mental images of his dismemberment.

"She leaves an impression, doesn't she?"

Logan turned in his chair to an amused Rory. "I take it, you heard her."

Rory shrugged, dragging a chair to sit next to him. "She wasn't exactly whispering."

"She's very loyal to you."

Rory smiled, touched as she remembered her friend's warning. "And to think we started off as mortal enemies."

Logan leaned back on his chair. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, back when we met in high school, it was Paris's mission in life to make my life a living hell."

"What changed that?" He questioned, liking the normal conversation they were having.

"My charm," Rory laughed. "Or I just wore her down. I don't know. I turned around one day and we didn't hate each other anymore, we were friends."

"Hmm," Logan thought for a second. "Think I can wear her down?"

Rory squinted at him with an unsure smile. "You want to?"

Logan lifted his shoulders in answer. "She's your friend, she's important to you. I want to get along with her since I plan to spend my time with you which mean I would have to interact with her, too."

Rory allowed herself a smile as he grinned at her, his eyes twinkling. "You really are sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"Always."

Rory shook her head, amused but exasperated. "Logan…"

Logan took her hand, pulling her closer and gave it a chaste kiss. "Fight it all you want, Rory, you know this is real and you know this can work if we work at it."

She just said his name again in the same tone, but allowed him to kiss her wrist right above where her bracelet dangled.

"So did you finish the article?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I just emailed it to Doyle."

"Can I read it?"

"Sure, when it comes out, along with everyone else."

"Mean." Logan pouted and Rory laughed at his dramatics.

"Thank you again, Logan, and not just for the story but all of it. It was a lot of fun."

Logan brushed a small strand of hair out of Rory's face, taking in her smile, the same smile she had given him after the event.

_** Logan leaned against the car with Finn and Colin waiting for Rory and Stephanie who had gone off to change out of their gowns, watching as other brigadiers finished loading up their cars._

"_Crap!"_

_He looked over to Colin who was staring at his cell phone. "What is it?"_

_Colin continued to frown at his cell. "I forgot that I had a study date with my Political Science partner last night and she just left me a scathing message."_

_Finn looked over Logan and shared a grin. "And you're bothered, Mate?"_

"_She was really upset with me on the phone." He explained._

"_Again… and that bothers you?" Finn asked again. "She's hot, isn't she?"_

_Colin rolled his eyes at his friend's question. "Not everything is about a woman being hot."_

_Logan chuckled at Colin's irritation. "But she is, isn't she?"_

_Colin gave them a dismissive wave. "Sure, in that neurotic, high strung kinda of way."_

_Finn turned to Logan with wide eyes and mouthed the words back to his friend 'neurotic, high strung kinda of way', earning a smothered chortle out of Logan. "You found someone high strung? You?"_

_Logan didn't bother hiding his laughter this time when Colin gave them a glare and murmured 'idiots'._

_Finn joined in on the laughter. The laughter getting longer and louder the more Colin got annoyed. That was how the girls found them: Finn and Logan holding each other up, laughing while Colin stood some distance away from them, glaring._

"_What's so funny?" Stephanie questioned as she and Rory walked up to the car._

"_Nothing, these fools are amused by their own voices as usual," Colin answered and looked at Rory. "Save yourself, Gilmore, while you can from the madness."_

_Logan stopped laughing but not smiling as he wrapped an arm around a confused Rory. "Go deal with your phone call and don't scare Rory off."_

_Colin rolled his eyes but walked away, getting in the back of the car, while Finn walked over to the passenger side, opening the door for Stephanie with great flare before going over to the driver's side. Logan turned Rory to face him, his hands on her shoulders. "You have everything?"_

_Rory nodded._

"_And you had fun?" He questioned, smiling widely when she grinned at him. _

"_Good!" He said, brushing his lips over her forehead and like Finn, walked her over to the door and opened it for her before slipping in behind her. "Hit it, Finn."_

"_Yes, Sir," Finn mocked._

_Rory smiled at the easy banter before she smothered a yawn. "No blindfold back?"_

"_I'll blindfold you some other time." Logan answered, earning a blush from Rory and a chuckle from the rest of the people in the car. "Besides, the way your eyes are closing, you'll be asleep soon."_

_Rory was about to answer but another yawn came out instead to which Logan simply pulled her until she had her head lying on his shoulder. Not bothering to put up a fight, Rory let her head rest and closed her eyes, drifting off to a world of tuxes, pretty gowns and umbrellas. **_

"You're welcome, Rory."

Rory smiled as she got up. "I got to go, I'm driving to Hartford."

Logan stood up, too. "Plans?"

"Family Friday night dinners." Rory explained as she headed for the door. "I'll see you later?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah."

xxx

"Lorelai, stop playing with your food, honestly, you're like a child sometimes."

Rory smirked as her mother made a face.

"So, Lorelai how is Luke?" Emily asked.

Lorelai smiled with false sweetness. "Still recovering from his happy Gilmore outings."

Rory sighed and looked at her food as her grandmother looked at her mother with a stony expression before turning to her.

"Rory, how's school?"

"Fine, Grandma." Rory started telling her about the comings and goings of her school life, a teacher she enjoyed, the hectic world of the newspaper, which allowed Lorelai to eat in peace without any remarks from Emily while her focus was on Rory.

Dinner came and went, her mother leaving first while Rory stopped to say good-bye to her grandfather in the pool house. On her way back into the main house, she found her grandmother in the living room going over a list.

"I'm going now, Grandma."

Emily looked up at Rory. "Going to Stars Hollow?"

Rory shook her head. "No, not this week, too much homework, I'll just get distracted with Mom."

"Mostly likely." Emily agreed. "Rory, may I ask… Are you seeing someone?"

Rory looked at her grandmother, startled at the out-of-nowhere question, her mind going to Logan. "Uh…no, why?"

Emily studied her granddaughter for a moment. "No reason, just curious."

Rory looked unsure that she should believe her. "Okay, I'm going now."

"Rory," Emily said, standing up. "I forgot to tell you and your mother earlier that your grandfather and I are hosting a little Yale alumnus party on Friday, so we'll have to cancel our dinner."

"You and Grandpa together?" Rory asked, surprised but pleased.

"Yes, and we know that your mother wouldn't like to come to it, but we were hoping that since you go to Yale, you would." Emily explained. "You never know what contacts you can make."

"Okay," Rory agreed. "If you and Grandpa want me to come, I'll be here."

"Fabulous!" Emily smiled. "You'll tell your mother she's 'off the hook' as she would say."

Rory smiled. "Sure, Grandma, I'll tell her."

"Great."

Rory gave her grandmother a kiss and a hug and said her good-byes, never noticing the scheming glint in Emily's eyes.


	19. Meat Markets Invitations & Infatuations

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update, I have no excuse other then I get stuck sometimes. Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter, Let me know. I swear the next chapter the party starts.

**19. Meat Markets Invitations & Infatuations**

"Finn, you need to stop leaving your crap all over the common room and moving my books around!"

Logan walked into his dorm suite to find Colin under a desk letting out frustrating growls.

He walked over to the bar and poured club soda into a glass with ice. "Problem?"

Colin lifted his head, glaring at Logan when he saw the smirk on his blond friend as he lifted the glass to his lips. "Yes, if you must know… we live with a pig who is always touching my things and I'm ten minutes away from being late to meet Geller at the west end library. She's going to kill me."

Logan's smirk grew at the slightly fervent tone of his friend knowing the small blonde girl intimidated Colin, something he understood since the girl in question had the same effect even on him. Still, he thought his usually arrogant and collected friend was taking the fear a little too far and wondered if it was something else.

He didn't have time to comment on it since Finn decided to walk out of his room at the moment.

"Bloody hell, mate, you're not even shagging the girl yet and she already has you on a tight leash." Finn said as he walked around to the couch, pulling it to the side to retrieve Colin's book which was apparently behind it.

Colin huffed as he went to take the book from Finn's outstretched hand. "No one said anything about _shagging_ Paris."

Finn pulled his hand back, raising the book above his head, using his height to his advantage. "I did though, as in you want to, which is why you are all in a tizzy, well, more than usual."

Logan leaned back on the counter with a wide grin, watching the scene unfold, wondering how close to home Finn was getting with his observation, especially when Colin ignored the remark.

"Don't be a brat, Finn. Give me my book!"

Finn laughed as he took in the stern look on his friend's face and handed over the book just as his friend's cell phone rang.

Colin took the book and pulled out his cell phone, swearing when he saw who it was. "I'm on my way, Geller, keep your panties on."

"You should tell her to take them off." Finn quipped and Logan laughed as Colin quickly covered the mouth piece, glaring at both of them, a blush surprisingly working its way up his cheeks as he heard whatever Paris was saying to him.

"Right. No talk about your panties. Got it." Colin stated seriously as Finn and Logan chuckled. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Colin hit _end_ to the conversation, giving both of them the evil eye. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem, mate." Finn answered cheerfully as he sat down on the couch.

Making his way to the door, he turned to Finn. "Why was my book behind the couch?"

Finn smirked and wagged his eyebrows. "Stephanie was here earlier."

"Enough!" Colin raised a hand. "I don't want to know."

Logan watched his friend exit and turned back to Finn. "How true do you think that all was?"

Finn looked at him curiously. "Colin wanting to shag your girl's roommate?"

Logan nodded his head. "Yeah."

Finn shrugged his shoulder. "He's more high-strung about pleasing her when Colin isn't really about pleasing anybody and the girl while all kinds of crazy is very doable."

"She can also eat him alive." Logan reasoned.

Finn smirked. "Sounds like a good time to me, mate."

Logan laughed as he started to walk to his room. "That's because you have no self-preservation skills, Finn."

"Speaking of women that can eat men alive," Finn called out, amusement lining his voice. "Your mom called, she left a message."

Logan turned around and arched an eyebrow, knowing there was more to it. "Cute. What did she say?"

"It's on the machine." Finn continued, standing up to fix himself a drink. "But essentially, the three of us are invited to one of those special high society rituals of breeding on Friday."

Logan frowned and started to his door again. "Ugh, a meat market, pass."

"I thought you might say that." Finn called out again, this time a chuckle escaping. "It's at the Gilmore estate."

Logan closed his eyes, forcing his jaw to unclench and looked at his friend, once more taking in the wide grin and twinkle in his eyes. "The Gilmore's?"

Finn's smile was gleeful. "The Gilmore's."

Logan sighed, feeling a headache coming on. "Rory would never agree to that."

"Who says she knows, mate?" Finn reasoned, this time a little more cautiously, knowing that while he might get a kick out of this, Logan's reaction was tied in with the personal. "Sooo…we're going?"

A slammed door was his answer and he allowed himself a last laugh. Time to pick a tie.

xxx

Colin raced through the library to the back, ignoring the angry looks he was getting from students for the noise he was making and for bumping into some of them. He found Paris sitting in a secluded corner, her nose in her book. He took a moment to take her in. A fitted ice-blue cardigan sweater, a dark grey suede skirt that seemed to end right above her knees, boots and her pretty dirty blonde hair in a French braid. He shook his head, ignoring what sounded like Finn in his head laughing and talking about shagging.

"Sorry, I'm late." Colin said as he reached the table, telling Finn to shut up as she looked up at him, anger flashing in her big brown eyes. She shouldn't look so hot while it looked like she wanted to deck him.

"My friends are idiots." He offered in way of explanation with an unsure smile.

"Not surprising." Paris said snidely. "You are friends with them after all."

Colin felt his mouth twitch but tempered down the need to smile fully. She wouldn't appreciate the fact that her insult amused him greatly. "Ouch!"

Paris rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Colin sat down close to her, raising an eyebrow when she moved away from him a little. "Let's start over… we have to work together for the unforeseeable future and it will work out better if we are civil."

Paris looked at him quietly for a moment, staring at his face. Colin remained quiet, looking her in the eye; obviously, she was testing to see if he was worth her time and for some reason Colin wanted to make sure she decided he was.

"Fine." Paris said warily, "A truce."

"Great." Colin half smiled. "And who knows we might even become friends."

Paris smiled as she moved her chair back closer to his. "Don't push it, McCrae."

Colin laughed as he pulled out his books, setting them next to hers, getting down to reading. He ignored the way his stomach clenched when, as she went to turn the page of her book, her knuckles brushed against the back of his hand.

Stupid Finn.

xxx

Rory sat at her desk, enjoying the quiet of being alone after an afternoon of hearing Paris murmur to herself about idiotic study partners. She had walked out telling Rory that she hoped Rory wasn't too attached to her new friends because if Colin McCrae bailed on her again, she was going to kill him. She wasn't sure what was going on there; it seemed that Paris was more than her usual Paris-self about having to work with someone. She just hoped Colin wore a protective cup.

Rory smiled at the conjured image, breaking out of her thoughts at a knock at her door. So much for her quiet, she got up and walked over, opening the door to a smiling Logan, coffee in hand.

"I bring elixir of life."

Rory opened the door wider, letting him pass, telling herself that the sudden butterflies were for the sweet aroma of what was most likely expensive coffee and not for the beautiful guy with warm brown eyes and a playful grin in front of her, looking at her up and down, checking out her sweats and tank top with spaghetti straps. "Damn, Rory, you really do make everything look good."

Rory blushed as she looked down at herself, running a hand over her hair. "What brings you here?"

Logan smiled, letting her get away with changing the subject of how she looked, handing her the coffee. "I wanted to see you."

Rory took a sip, closing her eyes, a sigh of pleasure escaping her throat as she tasted the coffee. Opening her eyes, she swallowed the hot liquid, barely feeling the burning sensation when Logan was too busy looking at her with heated eyes, his looks burning way more than the coffee ever could. "Why?"

Logan took a few steps until he was crowding her by the door, pressing her against it. Reaching up, he brushed a lock of shiny brown hair away from her eyes, loving the way they looked at him. "Because I always want to see you."


	20. MY EYES, MY EYES!

**A/N Hope you guys like this chapter. As always thanks to my beta who is always there to make this the best possible story.**

**20. MY EYES, MY EYES!**

Logan leaned in his nose grazing the column of her throat as Rory looked up giving him access, blushing when he gave a deep sound of approval.

"You smell good." Logan murmured against her skin, kissing her jaw line as his hand cradled her head.

"Logan…I…" She whispered as his lips gazed hers, her hands clutching his forearms.

"Rory, please." Logan cajoled, smiling as she gave him a dazed look, hoping she wouldn't turn him down. "Let's just be Rory and Logan for a little while."

"Evil man." Rory mumbled, causing Logan to chuckle against her lips. The laugher turned into a groan of appreciation as she parted her lips and her tongue snaked out against his mouth. Parting his own lips, Logan deepened the kiss, losing himself in her familiar taste as he pulled her closer to him and away from the door.

Rory followed, her hands gripping the lapels of his sports jacket as she pushed it off his shoulders, curving into his body as his hand played with the end of her tank top before slipping under it, his fingers tracing her spine.

Logan walked backwards, pulling her along until he felt the edge of the couch at the back of his legs. Sinking into it, he pulled her down, humming praises into her mouth as she straddled him. He pulled back enough to break the kiss, laying softer and slower kisses on her swollen lips as he looked up at her. Her clear blue eyes wide as she stared at him, her brown hair a curtain around them as she looked down. He traced her features with his eyes, smiling as a warm rosy color spread over her cheeks at his scrutiny.

"You are so beautiful, Rory." Logan said quietly as his hands caressed her shoulders while playing with the straps of her top, slowly he brought each down. Leaning in, he gave each shoulder a soft open kiss before doing the same to her collarbone. "So beautiful."

Rory closed her eyes shut, her hands holding on to Logan's blond locks as he kissed the top cover of her breasts, pulling the top a little lower. She could feel him between her thighs hardening while flashes of their night together in Rome played behind her eyelids. Not being able to help the shot of lust running through her, she rocked into him, their moans mingling at the contact.

Pulling away from where his mouth met her flesh, she made sure he looked up at her before she rocked her hips once more, this time slow and deliberate, her center throbbing at the feel of him along with his hands that where clutching her hips as he started to move with her.

They stared at each other, both their pupils blown wide, their eyes shades darker as the tension intensified; the only sound in her common room was their heavy breathing.

"You're killing me, Rory." Logan rasped, as she moved over him.

"This isn't smart." Rory whispered against his mouth as she continued to move, her fingers tracing the hard edges of his face.

"You're right." Logan agreed as he kissed her fingertips before sucking in a couple of fingers, whirling his tongue around them before letting them go. "This is so very stupid on our part."

Rory nodded, now gasping for air as her body kept tightening. "Us sleeping together…

"…with us not defining our situation…" He continued between kisses.

"This is dumb." Rory closed her lips around his bottom one.

"Very." Logan finished for her as his hand reached under her top, molding her breast.

Rory arched her back as his thumb circled her nipple. "We should stop."

"Right or take this to your bedroom." Logan conceded as he pulled her top further down to uncover the breast he exposed with his mouth.

Rory let out a small cry as his teeth scraped her nipple. "Right….I have…a roommate..who…"

"OH, MY GOD!"

Rory let out a startled squeak, her body and Logan's freezing at the scream while her head whipped around, her eyes aimed at the door where her roommate and companion stood just as frozen as they were. "Oh, my god."

"MY EYES, MY EYES!" Paris screamed, covering said eyes with her hand as Colin who stood behind her, stared up at the ceiling, a blush working over his cheeks, clearing his throat. He waved in their general direction. "Hey, Logan…Rory, want to cover up?"

Rory looked back at Logan who while wide-eye hadn't removed his mouth from her breast. Jumping up quickly and with her back turned to everyone, she quickly fixed her top, while Logan who was working a little slower pulled his shirt out of his jeans so it covered his lap and the raging hard-on he was sporting.

Bringing his hands up, Logan rubbed his face, letting out a small scream of frustration into them.

"Is it safe?" Paris asked frantically, her free hand moving back to hold on to Colin's.

Rory turned around, rolling her eyes as she saw her friend still covering hers. "Yes, Paris, you can look now."

Paris slowly lowered her hand, a glare forming now that all body parts were covered. "My poor eyes, weeks and weeks of sessions with Terrance are not going to help with this traumatic event."

Rory blushed. "Paris."

Paris ignored Rory's embarrassment as she looked at Logan who was still sitting on her couch. Hands on hips, she gave him a murderous look. "And you, you better not have left any _fluids _on the couch."

Colin snorted into his hand, covering the smirk that was on his mouth.

Rory turned redder and wished the ground would open up. "PARIS!"

Logan stood up, rolling his eyes at the blonde girl before turning to Rory; he reached out and brushed the hair away from her face. "We should have moved this to your room."

Rory gave him a small smile as he tried to joke. "You should go."

Logan sighed, but nodded knowing that he wasn't going to change her mind. Leaning into her, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I wanted to talk to you about what you're doing this coming Friday."

Rory shook her head, thinking he wanted to ask her out. "I have family dinner."

"I know…"

"Ahem." Paris cleared her throat. "I'm going to go get my black light."

Rory shook her head again, exasperated. "We'll talk later, Logan."

"Yeah, cause that was what you guys were doing."

"Paris!" Rory moaned. "Logan, please."

"We'll talk later." Logan bent down to pick up his jacket and made his way to the door, pausing as he reached Paris and Colin. "As always, a pleasure, Geller. Colin, you coming?"

Colin looked down at Paris and then at his frustrated friend. "Yeah, I guess, I only tagged along to make sure Paris got to her room okay."

"Which I told you I didn't need; I can take care of myself." Paris pointed out.

Colin simply looked at her.

Paris made a face. "But thank you anyway."

"See, that wasn't hard." Colin grinned. "There are harder things… right, Logan?"

Logan narrowed his eyes at his smiling friend. "Shut up, Colin."

Colin laughed as Logan walked away after giving Rory one final look. "Ladies."

Paris closed the door and turned back to Rory who stared at the floor. "I'm getting the black light."

Rory groaned, annoyed as her roommate walked away. "PARIS!"

xxx

Logan passed the brush through his hair and fixed the collar of his turtleneck before checking the time. He and Colin and Finn were due at the Gilmore estate in an hour. For the last two days he had been trying to talk to Rory about what had happened in her dorm room along with asking her if she knew what her grandparents little party was about, even though he was sure she didn't have a clue. But she was avoiding him much the same way he was avoiding his friends since they hadn't stopped teasing him from the moment Colin told them what he had witnessed.

"Come on, mate, fair lady awaits. We need to get a move on before some bloke steals her away!" Finn yelled from the common room.

Logan grabbed his wallet and his keys as he walked out of his room, rolling his eyes when he heard Colin.

"Or her grandparents sell her to the highest bidder… I mean make her date the most eligible suitor present."

Finn gasped, mocking. "But there is no higher bidder than our most eligible Heir Huntzberger."

"But they don't know that." Colin answered, playing along, smirking when Logan slammed the door to his room shut.

"You two done?" Logan asked, putting his jacket on. "Can we go?"

Finn and Colin nodded, grinning at their friend.

"And by the way," Logan said as he turned to them, a finger raised, "The reason her grandparents don't know about me is not my fault, if it were up to me I would tell them Rory and I are together."

"And are you together, together?" Finn countered, knowing the answer.

Logan frowned, feeling the tension he'd been carrying since his botched night with Rory build up again. "Also not my fault."

Finn nodded in a mocking way. "Who would have even thought we'd see the day Logan Huntzberger having woman troubles?"

"It's like a hero has died." Colin continued.

Logan rolled his eyes as he turned back to the door, muttering under his breath as his friends trailed behind him, not bothering to hide their laughter.

xxx

"The tables need to be farther apart….not that apart!"

Rory Gilmore stood in her grandparent's foyer clutching her bag protectively as she heard her grandmother reprimanding her staff. The already fancy home was deck in pretty linen, candles and antique crystal that were probably worth more than her car. She wondered once again what she was getting herself into. While her grandmother's events were always fancy, taking in the place, she felt a sense of dread that told her there was more to this night than a simple Alumni dinner. She silenced the voice of her mother cackling in her head, telling her that this was a ploy and that she had been suckered as her Grams rounded the corner and spotted her.

"Rory!" Emily Gilmore exclaimed happily, walking up to her, greeting her warmly with a hug. "You're early, good."

Rory smiled a little unsure but happy to see her grandmother. "Hi Grandma, the place looks nice."

Emily inspected the room with a frown. "There's too much blue."

Rory smiled a little easier. "It's a Yale party, Grandma, there can never be too much blue."

"I guess." Emily conceded as she looked her over. "You look very pretty."

Rory blushed at the compliment.

"But you know my hairdresser is upstairs, why don't you go up and see what she can do."

Rory frowned, feeling the dread start to return along with her mother's laughter. "Hairdresser?"

"Just for kicks." Emily answered nonchalantly.

"Right." Rory said anxiously as she started to make her way up the stairs, looking down to where her grandmother just gave her a wide smile that sent a chill down her spine. "Just for kicks."

xxx

Rory sat quietly as her grandmother's hairdresser pinned her hair in a regal bum, trying not to wince when she pulled tightly. She was beginning to worry more and more about this night as her grandmother pulled yet another piece of jewelry out, draping the diamond clustered necklace over her neck. She wondered if this was her punishment for avoiding Logan the rest of the week like she had. She could have been spending her evening with him instead of being weighed down by pounds of priceless jewels that while it should have made her feel like a princess, it simply made her uncomfortable.

"Oh, Rory, you look perfect." Emily gushed as she placed a tiara on her head. "Just perfect! Our guests are going to love you."

"Grandma," Rory started, trying to be as nice as possible. "Maybe this is too much, I mean it's just a simple dinner, right?"

Rory felt a cold sweat break as her grandmother avoided her eyes through the mirror. "Right, Grandma?"

"Yes," Emily answered as she fluffed her own hair. "Well, hurry up, dear, we can't keep our guest waiting."

Rory watched as her grandmother made her way to the door and then looked at the lady that had just finished making her up. "This is bad, isn't it?"

She wasn't surprised when the woman simply gave her a blank expression.

"Right." Rory mumbled as she stood up. Thanking the woman, she made her way out of the room and down the hall, reaching the top of the stairs, she gripped the railing tight.

"Everyone… here's Rory!" She heard her grandmother exclaimed happily.

Rory reminded herself two things as she looked down at all the guest that looked up at her, her grandparent's friends and all their _sons_. One, to breath and two, to always listen to her mother.


	21. Also ask for a duck!

A/N: The Chester/Rory baby name scene inspired by esren's great moment in her epic _The Point of Being Young._

**21. Also ask for a duck!**

"I'm thinking Chester the Third."

Rory stared blankly at the dark-haired boy in front of her. "Excuse me?"

"It's a good strong name for a boy." He continued, smiling proudly.

"Right." Rory trailed off, lost. "Umm…listen; I'm sorry, what's your name again?"

"Chester Jr." He said slowly, losing his smile.

Rory let out a nervous chuckle, taking a step back. "Hence, Chester the Third, right…listen, Chester, it was…lovely meeting you but I have to do…something…away from here. Bye."

She gave him an awkward wave as she turned on her heel. Face forward she gave small smiles to parents and their sons, never letting herself slow down enough to be pulled into a conversation about their boys' best attributes and accomplishments. Working her way to the patio, leaning against the marble and stone wall of the house, she let out a sigh of relief that she was alone for the moment. Pulling out her cell phone from a strategically hidden pocket of her dress, she waited while it rang every few seconds, darting her eyes around to see if she had been spotted.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIII told you sooooooo," Rang out a cheerful voice over her cell phone causing her to force herself to keep from screaming because it would only alert everyone inside where she was. "I haven't even said anything yet, Mom."

Lorelai's crackle rang through her phone and into the night. "It doesn't matter… I still told you so."

"Yeah, yeah," Rory grumbled, rubbing her temple as she felt a headache coming on. "Are you going to gloat or listen?"

"Rory, I'm shocked… shocked, I tell you," Lorelai started her tone full of fake hurt. "You know I can do both!"

Rory remained silent and for a moment just considered hanging up on her mom.

Sensing that she was seconds of pressing end to the call, Lorelai stopped chuckling. "Okay, okay, lay it on me."

"I sparkle like a disco ball from all the diamonds I have on me and I'm being sold off." Rory stated matter-of-factly. While she could honestly say that she wasn't all that surprised that her grandparents would pull something like this on her, another part of her was hurt that they would trick her like this. Even though she would have hated it, she would have agreed if just to please them, but, blindsiding her like this was unfair.

"What do you mean 'sold off'?" Her mother asked, the humor completely gone.

Rory moved from the wall and started to pace as she got worked up, anger seeping into her. "I mean we haven't discussed how many cows I'm worth, but I'm sure there's someone here who will put up a good bid, since all of the guests are grandma and grandpa's friends and their _sons. _I'm the _only_ girl here."

"Are you kidding me?"

She scoffed. "Not even I could make this up. Every person in there my age has an XY chromosome and is looking for a wife, which in this case would be me!"

"Oh, Rory…."

"Ugh!" She exclaimed, not caring if anyone could hear her now. "How could they do this to me?"

"They…"

"Yeah, yeah," She interrupted "They're them and this is what they do. They used the fact that I was so happy they were doing something together since their separation."

"I'm sorry, kid." Her mother offered. "Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No." She sighed, the anger draining away, leaving her just tired. "I have my car and as much as I would love to just leave, it would make a scene and that would be worse… I go to school with a lot of these guys."

"I'm sorry they played you." Lorelai repeated softly.

"Yeah, me, too." Rory agreed. "I'm going to let you go, I'll see you later, Mom."

"Okay, kid."

"By the way," Rory started asking, a small smile working its way to her lips. "How many cows should I ask for?"

"I don't know. A lot!" Lorelai said, laughing. "Also ask for a duck!"

Rory let a chuckled, feeling calmer. "Okay, I'll ask the fathers for a duck, too, or no deal. Bye, Mom."

"Bye, Babe!"

Rory shook her head as she closed her phone.

"I think I can handle a duck."

Rory closed her eyes at the amused voice behind her, she could feel a blush start at her neck and work its way up. Turning around she found mischievous brown eyes twinkling at her. A face she recognized instantly.

"Hello."

"Hello, Ms. Gilmore." The man in front of her said, smiling arrogantly, reminding her so much of his son. "I'm Mitchum Huntzberger."

xxx

Logan walked through the pristine estate with Colin and Finn in tow. It amazed him that he had been here before on more than one occasion. Dinners, parties, so many times he could have met Rory and yet it took them going halfway around the world to meet. Fate had a sense of humor, he supposed.

"We're late." He hissed to his friends.

"I know." Finn pouted. "We missed Rory's grand entrance, I bet it was smashing."

Colin laughed at the annoyed look Logan gave Finn. "Relax, I'm sure she's not betrothed _yet_."

Logan simply turned his look to Colin, wondering again why he had agreed they would come. "I don't even know why you guys are here. Stephanie would have your balls, Finn, and, Colin, you're after Rory's roommate."

"She would not!"

"I am not!"

Logan smirked at the uneasy look they both gave him. "She would, too, and you _so_ do."

"Whatever." Colin mumbled, looking away at glass doors ahead of him.

"We came with you for moral support and this is what we get!" Finn sulked.

"Yeah, that's what you're here for and not to see me go crazy as all these assholes hit on the girl I want." Logan griped, taking a glass of champagne from a passing server.

"Well, that too, mate." Finn said, taking a glass for himself. "But you don't have to be so bloody sensitive."

"You guys don't have to be jerks and yet you are." Logan pointed out, rolling his eyes as Finn simply gave him a wide grin. "Or maybe you do. What about you, Colin?"

"Hmm."

"What? The silent treatment now?" Logan asked. "There's nothing wrong with liking Paris if you do, okay?"

"Colin?"

Logan looked at his friend who seemed to be ignoring him for something behind him. "What are you looking at?"

"Rory." Colin said, an eat-shitting grin on his face as he finally acknowledged Logan. "Outside in the patio talking to your dad."

"What?" Logan's eyes grew wide as he turned quickly to look where Colin was pointing. There through big glass doors he could see Rory decked out in jewels and a pretty dress laughing with his father. "Fuck!"

xxx

"I read your article, Ms. Gilmore."

"Please call me Rory, Mr. Huntzberger."

"Mitchum then." He answered as he offered her a seat and sat down himself next to her. "As I said, I read your article on the Life and Death Brigade."

Rory smiled at the amusement in Mitchum's eyes. "Really?"

Mitchum nodded. "I like to keep up with the old alma mater's paper; it's close to my heart. It was a fascinating read."

"The brigadiers are a fascinating group." She answered.

"Hmm," He hummed. "So, you enjoyed your outing with them?"

Rory smiled widely which he returned at her words. "It was a once in a lifetime experience."

"I was surprised at the subject matter, the Life and Death Brigade is supposed to be a secret society."

Mitchum commented thoughtfully. "How is it that you came to know about them?"

"I doubt Rory would reveal sources, Dad."

Rory and Mitchum looked over to the door where Logan stood, his hands in his pocket as he gave her a small smile.

Rory got up, taking a step forward. "Hey."

Logan nodded as he walked over to her. Leaning down, he brushed his lips across her cheek. "Hey back."

Rory looked at him for a moment, taking in his stance. While his manner and words came off as casual, she could feel the waves of tension coming off him. She placed her hand on his arm, giving it a soft squeeze. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

Logan smiled, amused. "I tried to tell you the other day…but we got interrupted and we've been missing each other since then."

"Oh." Rory's eyes went wide in recognition. "So...you knew what this is about?"

"The 'best suitor' part of tonight's festivities? Yes."

"Well, you could have told me!" Rory answered, forgetting about the man who was still sitting down listening.

Logan let out a chuckle full of disbelief. "I tried, Ace, you've been avoiding me since that night."

Rory could feel a blush working its way to her face again. "No, I haven't!"

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I've been busy." She argued, hating the smirk he gave her in answer, not believing her for a second.

"I take it that you two know each other." Mitchum stated as he stood up.

Rory closed her eyes for a moment, wondering what their conversation must have sounded like to Logan's father. "Yes, we both work at the paper, so…"

"I doubt that, Rory, since my son seems to have an aversion to it."

"Hi Dad." Logan said sarcastically, knowing just by the tone in his father's voice that he was about to start his 'how Logan disappointed the family name' spiel. He wasn't surprised when his father ignored him completely.

"I wish he was dedicated like yourself, Rory. I hope you don't let him distract you too much from your writing. I can tell you have a bright future ahead."

Logan smiled tightly. "Unlike me he means."

Mitchum gave him a cold look. "You said it yourself, son, not me."

Logan returned the look. "I do love your pep talks, Pop."

Rory looked at both father and son and the body language between them. She could feel how Logan had practically turned to stone, the hostility radiating off him. It made her sad to see and she was reminded of their summer together. While they hadn't touched much on their lives as part of their deal, she knew enough to know that Logan didn't share with his parents the kind of relationship she shared with Lorelai or even with her dad. It also angered her that his father thought it was okay to treat him like this.

"While I appreciated the compliment, Mr. Huntzberger, I will have to disagree with the rest of your comment. Your son is talented and smart and from what I see has nothing but a bright future ahead of him."

Mitchum Huntzberger focused his eyes on the small girl before him. He noticed that her hand had gone from holding his son's arms to intertwining with his son's hand, holding it tightly. Her shoulders were squared off and her big blue eyes were narrowed as she glared at him. He watched as she took a step forward and placed herself slightly in-between them acting like a human shield. "You don't know my son well enough."

He watched as she raised her chin, her jaw clenched. "No offense, Sir, but from what I can see the one who doesn't know your son here is _you_."

He raised an eyebrow at her and his lip twitched. "You believe so?"

"I _know_ so."

Mitchum cleared his throat, looking at his son who stared at the girl in amazement, a smile playing on his son's lips. "Well, then, I stand corrected, I hope Logan doesn't disappoint the faith you have in him."

Rory looked at Logan before going back to his father. "He hasn't yet."

"Good." Mitchum took a step back. "I'm going to find my wife, last I saw her she was fawning over your grandmother's drapes. Do find her and say hello before you leave, Logan."

Rory and Logan watched as he walked away back into the house.

"Did I just tell off your dad, one of the most important newsmen out there?" Rory asked, looking at Logan with dread.

Logan laughed loudly. "Yeah…I'm pretty sure it's been a long time since anyone has done that to the old man."

Rory sat down again in her seat, covering her face as she mumbled in her hands. "Oh god!"

Logan sat down in the seat previously occupied by his dad, scooting close to her. "No one other than my sister has stood for me when it comes to him, Ace….thanks."

Rory lowered her hand and turned her head, finding his face very close to hers. "I didn't like him talking down to you."

Logan shrugged, trying to play it off. "He's been doing that for so long he doesn't know any other way."

Rory turned her body, getting closer to Logan as she cupped his face in her hands. "He's wrong, Logan, you know that, right? You are amazing."

"I'm glad you think so." He said softly against her palm.

"I know so." She repeated.

Logan grinned as he pressed his forehead against hers. "My own hot defender, I can get into that." Rory chuckled at his teasing, closing her eyes as he pressed a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

"Thank you, Rory."

"You're welcome." She answered. "But you're still not off the hook for not warning me what this party was really about.

"I thought maybe you knew." Logan hedged, not believing the words himself.

"Yeah, right!" Rory exclaimed, standing up quickly. "Like I would ever agree to being all but sold off, especially when you..."

Logan stood up to a smug smile on his face as she cut herself off and turned pink as she looked at him.

"Me what, Ace?"

"Nothing." She said quickly as she took a step back.

"No." He teased, pulling her in close before she could retreat. "You said _you_… finish the sentence."

"Logan…"

"Or," He said as he held her by the waist, his other hand cradling the back of her head. "I can finish it, you wouldn't agree to this because I am in your life and you want me as much as I want you."

Rory smiled at the husky but teasing tone his voice took. "That wasn't what I was going to say."

Logan shrugged. "Maybe not exactly but the meaning is the same. We both want the same thing, Rory."

He leaned in, his lips a breath away from hers. "Isn't it time to stop fighting it?"

Rory looked up into his eyes. The teasing was gone, in its place open honesty and she felt compelled to answer with the same.

"Yes."

Review people! it makes me write faster. :)


	22. A New Beginning and a Story to Tell

**22. A New Beginning and a Story to Tell**

"Yes."

The word resonated in his mind as he took in the soft smile gracing Rory's beautiful face. Her sparkling blue eyes were clearly filled with joy as he stared at her with what was sure to be amazement on his face.

"You're serious?"

She let out a happy laugh at the question and took a step closer to him, her pretty party dress brushed against him, her hands rested on his biceps as she leaned her head back to look up at him. "Would you like me to take it back, Logan?"

"No!" He answered quickly and rolled his eyes at the eager edge in his voice but smiled as she laughed again. "Definitely not, Ace."

"I think…" She started as her lips softly touched his, letting out a content sigh. "You should kiss me now, Logan."

Logan nodded dumbly, lost in the warmth of her eyes. Reaching up, he cradled her cheek in one hand while the other clutched her small waist. Dipping down, he took his time as he parted her lips with his own. She tasted sweet as always; this time mixed with the champagne she had consumed earlier. Smiling into the kiss as she let out a small frustrated sound, he deepened the kiss.

"Nice! You two enjoying yourselves out here while Colin and I are in that sausage fest your grandparents call a party, Gilmore."

Rory and Logan broke the kiss at the petulant tone, Rory let out a snort at the words and Logan muttered that he hated his friends against her cheek. Giving Logan another quick kiss, she turned to the tall boy behind them. While his tone had been filled with displeasure, the wide beam on his face told another story. As she gave her attention to Finn, she could feel Logan intertwine his hand with hers, bringing it up to his lips. "What's the problem, Finn?"

Finn watched as his friend ignored him in favor of the girl before them and his smiled turned teasing. "Finally, put him out of his misery, huh, Luv?"

Rory rolled her eyes at the comment and looked at Logan who was too busy looking at her to rise to his friend's bait. She breathed deeply to calm and prevent herself from doing something out of character like squealing or doing a little dance. She really was a fool to have been denying this for so long. Like a flip of a light switch, it felt like she was seeing everything clearly again since summer.

"It's a good thing, he's been impossible to live with. Grumpy, moody, always on the verge of tears!" Finn exclaimed dramatically, earning a glare from Logan and a giggle from Rory. "A lovesick Logan has been quite an unsavory fellow to room with."

"You could always find yourself evicted if you continue." Logan threatened, letting out an aggravated sound when it was met with amusement. "Is there a reason you came out here and interrupted us or do you hate me, Finn?"

"Hate, mate?" Finn gasped. "Never!"

"Then, what is it?"

"We're bored." Finn shrugged and turned to Rory with a sympathetic expression. "Your grandmother has excellent food and the beverages are passable but even that doesn't save the droning going on in there. The only amusement would be seeing the parental units fighting for your hand, Luv, but it looks like there is already a winner. So that is out and we need to find a new source of entertainment fast… we're getting restless."

"Well, we can't have that!" Rory mocked as Finn gave her a serious nod.

"Actually we can't." Logan interrupted. "When Finn is bored it usually ends with property damage, just like my father's yacht."

Finn rolled his eyes at the reminder. "You sink _one_ boat and they hold it over your head for life."

Rory's eyes widen having remembered Doyle's passing comment once. "He sank the boat off of Fiji?"

Finn narrowed his eyes at his friend. "You're still gripping about that?"

Logan ignored Finn's question and turned to Rory. "Yes, he did, now imagine what he could do here with your grandmother's pretty crystal."

Rory nodded. "Gotcha."

"Grab the booze, Finn, time for a change in venue."

"Yes!" Finn pumped his fist in the air and turned to head back into the house.

Logan shook his head at his ridiculous friend and looked at Rory. "Sorry, it's better to just amuse him."

"No need." Rory leaned in and kissed him. "To be continued."

Logan grinned as he deepened the kiss. "Definitely!"

xxx

Finn extended his arms outward, his head hanging low as he looked out to his captive audience. "Forgive them, Father. They know not what they do."

"I find it both fascinating and disturbing that Finn can quote and act out parts of the _Passion of the Christ_." Rory whispered as she leaned into Logan's side as they sat on the couch; they were in the pool house together with a group of guys that had managed to sneak out of the main house party.

She felt Logan's body shake as he chuckled in her ear. "Those two words describe Finn very well, plus his minor is performing arts so this comes easily to him."

"I like it better when he does his _Passion of the Christ_ bit as Homer Simpson." Colin joined in the conversation as Finn took his final bow while the others laughed and applauded.

"How does that go?" Rory asked, her eyes wide as she thought about it.

"I add _D'oh_ at the end when they put me on the cross." Finn answered as he sat down across from them.

Rory's mouth dropped, a disbelieving laugh coming out. "That seems horribly sacrilegious even for a non-religious person like me."

Finn shrugged and raised his nose in the air as he looked at her. "True art is meant to be controversial!"

"Sure." Rory agreed. "But if lightning bolts start striking, don't stand too close to me."

"Same here!" Logan agreed.

Colin laughed while Finn huffed at them. He watched as Logan trailed his fingers over Rory's arms. Ever since they had all filled the pool house, he'd been watching how his friend and the pretty girl had been within touching distances of each other at all times, even when they were talking to others, especially Rory whom the men had taken their time to try and charm, they had never broken contact. "So….Rory, who's it going to be?"

Rory looked up from Finn and Logan to where he now stood. "Excuse me?"

"Well, this is obviously a husband hunt." Colin started as he looked around at the gathered men who all smiled at the pretty brunette who now blushed. "I have a feeling your grandparents want you to pick someone tonight."

"Me. Pick me, Luv, I'm exotic." Finn jumped in as he quickly walked around the coffee table to kneel before her.

Rory laughed as she looked down at her goofy friend. "You also have a beautiful blonde girlfriend who is quickly becoming my friend and who will string you up."

"Touché." Finn made a fake pout as he moved away, surprisingly pleased at the comment, not at all bothered at the fact that people consider him Stephanie's.

Others took his place, making grand proclamations of their affection. Rory laughed as she looked at Logan who, while glaring at his friends around him, had a smile of his own at her enjoyment.

"Pretty popular, Gilmore." Logan said as he shook his head at everyone gathered. "Who is it going to be?"

"Well…." Rory dragged out as she got everyone's attention. "I'm going to have to let my boyfriend choose for me."

Rory turned in her seat to look at Logan whose smile had turned smug. "So, who should I choose?"

Logan laughed at the impish look on Rory's face and leaned down and gave her a smacking kiss that had everyone gathered hooting and laughing. "Sorry, boys, this beautiful woman is taken."

xxx

"RORY!"

Rory stumbled on her feet to look back at the limo packed with drunken laughing high society men.

"WE LOVE YOU, RORY!"

"Shhhh," She answered, bringing a finger to her lips. "You're going to wake up my mother!"

They answered her with more proclamations of adoration, the champagne had been flowing freely during the ride over to Stars Hallow after they had snuck from the party and everyone was starting to feel the effects.

"Those are fine upstanding men right there." She said as she leaned into Logan who helped her up the walkway to her house.

"Exceptional manners and breeding." Logan trolled, smiling as she let out a bark of laughter. "You're a little drunk."

"A little." Rory agreed, holding her thumb and index close together in front of them.

"But sober enough to remember tomorrow morning that you called me your boyfriend?" Logan asked, trying to joke but even to his own ears came off as insecure.

His tone along with the concerned expression on his face sobered her right up. "I won't be forgetting or taking that back anytime soon… I'm afraid you're stuck with me, Huntzberger."

"I'll keep you." He answered sincerely, brushing back a loose lock of hair that had sprung free and caressed her cheek. "Not that I'm not grateful, Rory, but why now? Why tonight?"

"Besides the fact that keeping you at arm's length as been nearly too impossible?" She answered his question with her own, scoffing when he gave her a smile filled with pure male satisfaction.

"Yeah."

Rory locked her arms around his neck, bringing him close. They both ignored the fact that their friends were a few feet away, watching them. "Your friends love you, they tease and make fun, but it's obvious that you, Colin, Finn and Stephanie are a family. But while they love you, they don't know all of you. And your father, I have no idea who the hell he was talking about because it wasn't you whom he described and I realized as he spoke about the Logan Huntzberger he thinks he knows that I know the real Logan who, by the way, is amazing. For some reason, you have let me see the real you and that's obviously something you don't let many see. I'm one of the lucky ones and I'm not going to waste it anymore. Especially since I don't want to."

Logan took in what she said and could feel a lump of emotions stuck in his throat at her words. Three words of his own were at the tip of his tongue which he swallowed back for now. "I'll try not to disappoint you, Ace."

Rory smiled as she gave him a small kiss. "Like I told your dad, you haven't yet and I really don't think you will."

"So, basically I owe my dad for your change of heart?" Logan joked.

"Yes." Rory answered with a snicker. "You should go… it's going to take you awhile to get them all home."

"Hmmm." He kissed her lips and then her cheek, holding her close before taking a step back. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ace."

"Goodnight, Logan." She said softly as she watched him walk backwards to the limo, his grin never lessening as he looked at her. She watched as he got into the car and waved back at Finn who had his head out the sunroof. She stood there long after the limo was out of sight, smiling happily at the turn of events. Lost in her own world, she missed the door opening behind her.

"I guess the party wasn't so horrible after all." Said a sarcastic voice behind her. Turning around, Rory found Lorelai giving her a once over and she could just picture how she looked to her mother. She wasn't all that steady on her feet, her hair was in disarray, her tiara crooked while she wore a fancy dress and covered in diamonds. She didn't have to ask, she knew her mother had seen her arriving in a sleek limo full of men and had more than likely seen her moment with Logan. The expression on her mother's face told her that she was already making her own opinions all colored by her world views of social classes.

Knowing the time had come, she took a deep breath. "Mom…" She started, standing up straight as she walked into their house. "I think it's time I tell you what happened this summer while I was in Europe and the amazing guy I met there."

**A/N: So….you guys are totally awesome over 30 reviews last chapter and you put me over the 300 mark. Seriously guys you have no idea what it means to me to read your comments. I'd still be writing without reviews but you guys make it fun and rewarding. From the bottom on my heart thank you so much! Hope you guys liked this chapter.**


	23. Share Time

**23. Share Time**

Rory Gilmore stood in front of her vanity mirror. The fancy cocktail dress was gone, replaced by yoga pants that had never seen the inside of a yoga studio and a tank top. Her earlier coiffed hair now laid in ringlets over her shoulders, her make-up while still on was now smudged from hours of wear. She took her time slowly for two reasons: one, she was deadly afraid that she would lose or damage the jewelry she was wearing and two, she knew that her mother was outside just a few feet away waiting for her. After removing the necklace, she was left bare of all the jewelry but the delicate bracelet that hadn't come off since summer. Touching the small heart and key charms, she smiled; her anxiety about her upcoming conversation lessening. Taking a breath, she turned towards the door heading back to the living room where her mother waited, her face set.

"So how was the party?" Her mother started and Rory wasn't sure if she should be grateful to her mom for getting the ball rolling or not.

Rory opened her mouth only to be interrupted.

"Well, from what was going on… on our porch, I'd say just fine, did you get bothered tonight?" Lorelai asked sarcastically.

Rory couldn't stop the eye roll or the retort that escaped her mouth. "No, but I did get a boyfriend."

Lorelai stared at her with wide disbelieving eyes. "Blond limo boy?"

Rory sat down on the couch, pulling her legs up. "His name is Logan Huntzberger."

Lorelai shook her head, recognizing the last name. "You meet some guy at your grandmother's meat market and now he's your boyfriend?"

"I've known Logan since the summer, Mom." Rory explained, getting a confused look in return. "I met him in Europe."

"Europe? This summer?" Lorelai asked softly and slowly trying to understand, watching as Rory nodded and smiled softly herself as she ran her fingers over her wrist where a bracelet hung. She stayed quiet as her daughter started talking. She fought the urge to interrupt as Rory spoke of meeting the boy at a café and the friendship they started, how it evolved when he started meeting up with her around Europe. She watched as Rory lit up more and more as she talked about the young man.

"So the summer ended and Grams and I left Italy and I thought that was it, that Logan and I would never see each other again." Rory said with a slight chuckle. "Imagine our surprise when we ran into each other at Yale, we met halfway around the world when we could have had a class together or met at a football pep rally.

"Like you would go to a pep rally." Lorelai murmured.

"Okay," Rory agreed. "A tailgate then."

"The fun flask," Lorelai said, smiling fondly. "Wish I had it right now."

"Mom!" Rory said.

Lorelai sighed. "So let's get this straight, you and this guy…"

"Logan."

Lorelai sighed again. "And Logan met in Spain and for some reason when he started following you around Europe, instead of screaming stalker and running away, you welcomed it."

"He actually said he didn't want to come off as a stalker when he asked if we could meet up in Paris." Rory commented.

"Right," Lorelai continued. "Anyway, so follow, follow, follow, sightseeing and dates with no personal information exchanged other than first names. Summer comes to an end you leave only to run into him here in Connecticut, at Yale?"

Rory nodded. "Yes."

"And now you and he are dating?"

Rory nodded again, this time smiling widely. "Yes."

Lorelai remained quiet, watching as her daughter leaned back on the couch, her posture turning relax and even lazy—so different from a few moments when Rory had been sitting up, straight like a rod. She watched as the smile on Rory's face turned almost dreamy.

"He's great, Mom." Lorelai heard her say, her voice so very soft.

"He's beautiful, smart and funny, he can make me laugh for hours, he's kind and generous and fun!" Rory exclaimed excitedly. "I have so much fun when I'm with him, he likes to tease me but it's always sweet. He doesn't mind when I tease him back, he seems to get a weird pleasure out of it. He's protective of me without being overbearing. He's just so great and he came into my life exactly when I needed someone like him. It was like fate."

Lorelai listened amazed, she could tell that Rory wasn't even really talking to her anymore, but more to herself, singing the boy's praises. She was in love; her little girl was in love in a way she never had been before. Lorelai knew that Rory had loved Dean and Jess, but never had she spoken about them like this or looked the way she was now. It only left Lorelai wondering about one thing. "Why didn't you tell me about him before, Rory?"

Rory snapped her gaze to her mother, her question rolling in her head, thinking of a way to answer without causing hurt feelings.

"Mom…we weren't talking while I was in Europe because of how things went down with Dean and I didn't want to bring another guy into an already tentative situation and when I got here and saw him, I was so sure it wouldn't work between me and Logan in the real world that I didn't want to bring it up, if nothing was going to come out of it." She explained.

Lorelai nodded but could see there was more to it by the way Rory looked around and not really at her. "And?"

"Mom…" Rory sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"And, Rory?" Lorelai questioned again, sure that she wasn't going to like what her daughter didn't want to say, but pushed on. The summer had shown her that as close as she and Rory were, it could be all too easy for her and her daughter to fall into a relationship like her and her own mother. And she refused… she refused for that to happen. She wanted Rory to be able to tell her anything always, even if she didn't like what was being said.

"Look, Mom, I love you," Rory said kindly. "I love you so much and you're my best friend. Us fighting this summer was horrible and I don't ever want us to fight like that again."

"But?" Lorelai asked, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"But you've made your views on wealthy people clear."

"Rory…" Lorelai protested weakly.

Rory raised her hands to stop her mother.

"Let me finish. I get that you weren't happy growing up in that world and with people like that. I get that and you're not wrong, some are horrible snobs who look down on people, Chilton and Yale have taught me that. But not all of them and not everything about that world is bad. I love our world here but I can't pretend that I'm not a part of that world too or that I mind it." Rory continued. "Logan isn't like that, he's arrogant but he's not a snob. His friends who have welcomed me with open arms have their moments but are kind people. I didn't tell you before because I was scared we would fight about him and his background, but now that I have admitted that I'm crazy about this guy to myself, I want to share it with you with the hope you'll give him a chance."

Lorelai stayed quiet as Rory gave her a worried look. She hated that she couldn't argue with her daughter's reasoning about her instinctive wariness of people who came from her parents' social background.

"Mom?" Rory spoke worriedly.

"I hate when you're right sometimes." Lorelai let out an audible breath. "I'll try, Rory, I can't wait to meet the guy."

Rory smiled happily and reached over, hugging her mother tightly.

xxx

Logan walked up the pathway of the picturesque house—it had a lived-in feeling that his own home lacked, the neighborhood quiet at nine in the morning seem alien to him; all the houses colorful with lawn gnomes and other lawn items. He decided it suited Rory. The warm feel of the town reminded him of Rory's own warmth. Balancing the tray he carried with gourmet coffee, he knocked on the white door of the house and waited. He took a step back quickly when the door opened almost immediately as if someone was waiting for him to knock. Before him stood a tall beautiful woman with raven locks and bright sharp blue eyes. He knew instantly that it was Rory's mother. "Good morning, Ms. Gilmore, I'm Logan."

"So…" She dragged out, studying him like he was a bug under a microscope. "You're the man who has captured my daughter's heart and brought her home buzzed."

Logan swallowed at the statement and the look with which it was delivered and wondered how he managed to find a girl who has a mother more intimidating than his own father. Wondering, he was left to do the only thing he can think of, lifting the tray to her and offered. "Coffee?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes but her lips curved upward a bit. "Bribery? I like that. I assume you would like to come in?"

"If it's not a bother, Ms. Gilmore." He answered charmingly.

"I'm going to stop you right there, Richie Rich," Lorelai paused, blocking the doorway. "You want us to get along, it's Lorelai, not Ms. Gilmore or anything else, it's just Lorelai, got it?"

"Yes." Logan nodded.

"Yes, what?" Lorelai questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Logan smirked, starting to enjoy the hard-ass game Rory's mother was playing and he thought of Rory once commenting that he sometimes reminded him of her. "Yes, Lorelai."

"Hmm," Lorelai pursed her lips. "Alright, Blondie, come on in. Rory is in her room sleeping it off. After we talked she crashed, I don't think she realized how much she had to drink until her head hit the pillow."

"Yeah…about that…" Logan trailed off, not knowing what to say, having never to really deal with parents about alcohol.

"Relax," Lorelai stopped him, leading him into the kitchen. Sitting down, she offered Logan to do the same, watching him as he took in his environment, pleased that his gaze was just curious and not critical. "First of all, to get through my parents' home in one piece, alcohol is usually needed especially since it seems that last night was even more trying at Casa de Gilmore than usual and secondly, I know Rory is not much of drinker… a few sips and she's a kite, so I don't think you supplied her with alcohol."

"I doubt I could supply her with anything except maybe coffee," Logan countered. "She kind of does what she wants."

Lorelai smiled. "Family trait."

Logan smiled back.

"Anyway, she's in there if you want to go in." Lorelai pointed at the closed door. "Waking her up is a pain, so I'll let you do it, I'll be here drinking this awesome coffee."

Logan waited for a moment, not really sure if he should really move, surprised that Rory's mother was so casual about him walking into her daughter's room.

"Well, go ahead," Lorelai gestured. "It's not like you're going to jump into bed with her with me out here, right?"

Logan shook his head quickly, still confused by the calm woman in front of him. "So, this is another family trait, huh?"

Lorelai looked at him inquisitively.

"Your daughter has a habit of surprising me frequently, keeping me unbalanced. It doesn't happen often to a guy like me but Rory is really good at it. You seem to be the same way, too."

Lorelai grinned, letting out a laugh. "Gilmores… we're special."

Logan smirked as he opened Rory's door. "I knew that before I even knew Rory _was_ a Gilmore."

Lorelai stared after Logan, his parting words echoing in her head. "Damn," she whispered to herself. "He's good."


	24. Confrontations and Dinner Invitation

**24. Confrontations and Dinner Invitations**

Rory Gilmore made her way through Bellamy Hall with a kick in her step. Professor Bell had complimented her last paper, leaving her in a happy bubble of academic approval. She stepped outside to the courtyard, side-stepping away from the crowd of fellow students going about their day. As the masses clear a bit, she spotted something that made her smile grow larger. Like all week, Rory found Logan Huntzberger sitting in one of the far end corner benches with coffee beside him, which she knew was for her. She slowed down her pace, taking a moment to take him in as he concentrated on his smart phone. She wasn't a superficial woman, she knew that beauty was more than skin-deep but looking at Logan she couldn't help but sigh with girlish appreciation at his handsomeness. His windswept hair that she _kne_w he spend time perfecting to act like he _didn't_ spend time on it, his warm chocolate eyes sparkling with intelligence and humor, his charming grin, lips curved upward when he saw her. Like now as he spotted her and her study of him. Rory blushed as his smile grew slowly and playfully like he could hear her thoughts. She took a steady breath as she closed the distance between them, sitting down next to him as he removed the coffee cup.

He leaned in sideways, one hand on her knee as he kissed her tender and light, smiling softly at her as she pressed her forehead against his. "Hello, Ace."

Rory closed her eyes as he kissed her once more, remembering how a week ago he greeted her the same way in a very different setting.

_** Rory eyes felt heavy; heavy in that 'never want to open them again' way. She didn't want to open them, even behind her eyelids she knew it was morning and that in her __inebriate state last night she had forgotten to close the shades, that or her cruel evil mother had made sure they were parted. Because even though she had officially decided that she was going to live a life in the shadow of closed eyes, she could feel the sunlight on her face. Next time she spoke to Finn, she was going to tell him he was right. _

_They so needed a darker sun._

_Besides the sun, she could feel something tickling her face, running over her eyes, cheeks and nose. She blindly swat at it with her hand only to hear a light chuckle. Evil, evil mother. _

"_Lorelai." Rory whined pitifully, trying to hide her face into her pillow, only to hear the laughter louder and…male?_

_Rory saw a shadow come over her as someone kneeled beside her bed, with the face close to hers. Slowly and hesitantly, she cracked open one eye, regretting it instantly. There in front of her with a cheery amused smile was Logan's face._

"_Hello, Ace."_

_Rory squinted at him, wondering if she had had more to drink the night before than she had realized. _

"_You're a hallucination, not real."_

_Logan raised an eyebrow at her words, waving a foam cup in front of her face. "That's a nice way to greet a man hopelessly devoted to you enough to bring you the best coffee in the state."_

"_Coffee?" Rory perked up a bit, her fingers reaching out, her eyes widening when she touched the cup and his solid hand. "You are real?"_

_Logan nodded, his lips curving as she bolted up from the bed, looking around, her eyes wider than he'd ever seen._

"_You're in my bedroom, Logan."_

"_Yes."_

"_My bedroom… in my house… in Stars Hollow." Rory said slowly, reminding him as much as herself._

"_Yes," Logan repeated just as slowly as if talking to a small child._

_Rory groaned. "Please tell me you broke in."_

_Logan opened his mouth only to be cut off by laughter coming from her doorway. Rory groaned again as she looked over, not surprised when she saw her mother standing with a wicked grin on her face, her eyes practically dancing with glee._

"_Morning, Sunshine, I've been getting to know your boy toy." Lorelai answered her silent question happily as she continued to sip on her own coffee. "So far he's okay, he brought a bribe and he's pretty enough."_

_Rory rolled her eyes at her mother but smiled nonetheless as she heard the sincerity in her mother's voice and the effort. "Glad to meet your approval, Mom." Rory answered, all the while looking at Logan, blushing happily when he gave her a soft look, his hand pushing a piece of wayward hair out off her face._

"_Hello." **_

"Hello." She breathed as he broke the kiss.

Logan passed over the coffee in his hand, smiling as he shook his head when she looked at_ it_ and not _him_ adoringly. Her addiction was very amusing. "Sometimes I think you love coffee more than me."

"Of course not, coffee is just a very close second." Rory answered without really thinking about her answer, missing the happy look on Logan's face as she drank her coffee.

"So," Logan hedged, feeling a bit flustered that her not quite but still there admission of love. "How was class?"

"Excellent!" Rory said, ready to tell Logan all about it when her cell phone rang. Pulling it out of her bag, she sighed as she saw the name of who was calling.

"Emily again?" Logan guessed, not at all surprised when Rory nodded a frown on her face. He could still remember the confrontation he had witnessed between Rory and her grandparents the week before when he had driven her over to their place to drop off her grandmother's jewelry and pick up her car.

** _"How's the headache, Ace?" Logan asked as he looked over at her as they stopped at a light._

"_Hmm… better, thanks," Rory turned from the window. "So….you going to tell me?"_

"_About?" Logan teased._

"_Logan," Rory pouted. "Tell me."_

_Logan laughed. "She told you she liked me fine, Rory."_

_Rory simply gave him a look._

"_I liked her, too." Logan continued, reaching over to take her hand. "You two are a lot alike, so, of course, I liked her. She's protective of you but easy-going enough, it went fine, Rory."_

"_Good!" Rory sighed relieved, she knew that her mother had said she would try but she had still been worried until now._

"_Hmm," Logan hummed questioningly as he pulled into the Gilmore Estate. "There's more to that, isn't there?"_

"_Never mind," Rory answered as she opened her side of the door. "Right now, let's concentrate on getting in and out of here. Hopefully without either of my grandparents noticing, I really don't feel like dealing with them after last night's stunt."_

_No sooner when the words were out of her mouth that the front door to the house opened with both her grandparents stepping out to greet them with wide smiles. Even from a few feet away she could see the calculating glint in her grandmother's eye. It filled her with sadness that for the first time ever, she felt the opposite of affection for the people before her and that she now viewed then with a cautious expression, expecting the worse from them. She got in a rush how her mother felt around them. She felt Logan beside her, his hand closing around hers and while she appreciated the support, another part of her cringed when she saw the scheming smile on her grandmother's face grow, like she had won something, like she had made this happen instead of betraying her trust and suddenly, Rory felt incredibly angry. _

"_Good Morning." She said curtly before they could start. "I came to drop off your jewelry, Grandmother."_

"_Oh, Rory." Emily waved off. "You could have given them to me next week."_

"_I also need my car." Rory answered, handing over the jewelry bag. "We'll be going now."_

"_Nonsense!" Emily interrupted. "Come in for lunch, both of you."_

_Rory remained silent, crossing her arms, amazed at the boldness. _

_Logan cleared his throat when the silence dragged on. He could see that Rory's grandparents weren't aware of their granddaughter's ire. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Gilmore, Richard." He said, addressing the two elders he knew well._

_Emily turned to him with a smaller smile as she had been studying Rory. "Hello, Logan, what brings you by?"_

"_Rory needed a ride." He explained easily, knowing that the less information, the better; the Gilmores, his parents, the less they knew was always best._

_He knew he was right when Emily smiled again, almost in triumph._

"_How nice of you, Logan." Richard answered happily._

"_Yes," Emily continued. "Were you at our little party last night, Logan?"_

"_Yes, Ma'am."_

"_Well," Emily started, pleased. "So glad you two hit it off, I…"_

"_No." Rory cut in, taking a step forward and pointing at her grandmother. "No, you don't get to take credit for this."_

"_Rory…" Richard started, surprised at her outburst, getting cut off by Rory, too._

"_Are you two seriously going to stand there smiling like you guys didn't do anything wrong?" Rory asked, flabbergasted._

"_Wrong?" Emily questioned, confused but defensive, as she heard Rory's tone, reminding her too much of Lorelai. "What did we do wrong?"_

_Rory looked over at Logan, seeing his support, sighing as she looked back at her grandparents, seeing no understanding in their eyes. "How about betray my trust?"_

"_Oh, Rory, please!"_

"_You guys totally blindsided me with that party," Rory continued, her voice growing strong. "You used the fact that I was happy you guys were planning something together since your separation…"_

"_Rory!" Emily said scandalized, looking at Logan._

_Rory rolled her eyes. "Logan doesn't care, Grandmother, you knew I would have never agreed to that meat market last night if I had known what it was and you used my love for you guys to get me there. What did you guys think? That I would be happy with last night? Let you guys find a suitor and sell me off? How many cows am I worth, Grandmother?"_

"_Rory," Richard spoke up. "That was never our intention."_

"_Yes," Emily said, aggravated. "Really, Rory, we just wanted you to meet people of your stature, obviously we were successful."_

"_I already told you, you don't get to take credit for me and Logan." Rory snapped, pushing down the need to apologize when her grandmother jumped. "Logan and I are completely our doing and none of yours or your business."_

_Logan watched as Rory stared down her grandparents once again, squeezing her hand. "Maybe we should go."_

"_Agreed." Rory nodded, starting to turn, but stopped once more when her grandfather called out her name. "I'll see you guys on Friday because I have to."_

_She looked at them sadly, already knowing that she would forgive them eventually but wouldn't forget anytime soon. "You know I've always given Mom crap for how untrusting she is when it comes to you guys but now I finally get it, you guys saw my trust as weakness and used it against me, I won't make that same mistake again."_

_This time when they called out her name she didn't turn to look at them, getting into her car, she followed Logan out. **_

"They haven't stopped calling, huh." Logan stated, already knowing the answer.

"Nope." Rory answered. "And I have to see them in two days for dinner, that's going to be fun."

Logan pulled her close to him, running his hand over her hair as she pressed her face into the crook of his neck. "It'll be okay."

"Liar." Rory joked as she pulled back, kissing the corner of his mouth in gratitude.

"This is precious," an accented voice broke through their moment.

Rory and Logan looked up, the latter sighing as they spotted Colin and Finn smirking down at them.

"Isn't it precious, Colin?" Finn asked. "These lovely lovebirds."

"Adorable!" Colin trolled.

"Yes," Logan said, rolling his eyes. "We're cute, we're great, get lost. I was planning on making out with my girlfriend. Disperse and do the same."

"Steph is in class." Finn explained easily, ignoring the smiles the three shared at his quick statement that implied Stephanie was his girlfriend.

"And I don't have a girlfriend." Colin reminded them, instantly regretting it when Logan and Finn shared a smirk, regretting it even more when Finn opened his mouth.

"Yet," Finn smirked, looking at Rory. "McCrae here has a thing for your roommate, luv."

Rory coughed to hide her smile as they all looked on, watching the way Colin flushed while glaring at them.

"I do not!" Colin protested, rolling his eyes at their grins. "Paris and I get along, that's all… we have to, we're going to be partners for the rest of the semester."

Finn scoffed. "You're attracted, admit it."

Colin shook his head. "Just because I find Paris beautiful…"

"Awww," Rory gushed happily, causing Logan and Finn to laugh out loud.

Colin glared at them once more and turned to leave, throwing over his shoulder a parting shot. "You all suck."

Rory, Logan and Finn laughed harder, the sound following him.

xxx

Colin grumbled under his breath as he made his way through the hall leading to his dorm. Idiot friends and their accurate deductions. Rounding the corner, he stopped short when he found the subject of his friends' teasing standing in front of his door, leaving a note on the whiteboard hanging there.

"Paris." He called out cautiously, cursing the fact that his pulse sped up at the slight smile she gave him. He hadn't been lying about them getting along. Since their truce, they had been developing a friendship he greatly enjoyed. Paris was prickly but, then again, so was he, neither were the easiest to get to know or get along with due to their high defenses. They had that in common. Paris was very smart, with a dry wit he enjoyed. She was pushy and could cut a person with her words but instead of being offended or going down his typical 'ass' route, Colin found himself amused and even charmed when she baited him.

He found her beautiful; he hadn't been lying about that either. He wasn't like Logan or Finn, when the three were together he was often forgotten for Logan the golden boy, or Finn the charmer but that didn't mean he hadn't had his string of beautiful woman in his past. Stephanie was a perfect example of that, with her stunning face, teasing ways and killer body. And while Paris' beauty wasn't in your face, her personality being anything but bubbly, there was no doubt that Paris was beautiful. Damn it, he was attracted.

Very attracted.

More than anything, he wanted to know what she tasted like, he'd seen her apply a clear fruity-flavored lip gloss once and he wanted to know if it tasted like cherry like the label claimed. He wanted to see how she looked out of the loose clothes she favored. He wanted to know if she turned soft and mellow after a good round in bed. He wanted to know all that and so much more. More than a passing fancy, he wanted to know her in way that he hadn't felt since he'd been in love with Stephanie.

"Hey, I was leaving you a note." Paris explained needlessly. "I need to change our study date, from Monday to Tuesday, if that's okay with you?"

"Sure," Colin answered, his brow scrunched up. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Paris answered, looking around, her face flushed. "I just have something that night."

"Oh?" Colin questioned, licking his lips nervously. "Hot date?"

"No," Paris hesitated, sighing embarrassed. "This speed dating thing, over at Anderson hall, stupid I know."

"No," Colin answered, his gut clenching at her words. "I'm just surprised, that doesn't seem like your sort of thing."

"It's not!" Paris exclaimed quickly. "It's so not my sort of thing, but it's been awhile since Asher and I figured I'd give it a try." She sighed again. "Forget it, like I said it's stupid, we shouldn't change our study date for it, let's just keep it for Monday."

"Or…" Colin started slowly, his pulse picking up as he realized what he was about to do. "We could still have our study date on Tuesday and go out on a _date_ date on Monday."

Paris gave him a wide-eye look, "What?"

"I like you," Colin blurted out. "You're smart, funny, snarky and I like it, you call me on my shit and I really like it, I think you're beautiful with your neat French twist and sensible sweaters. I know I'm probably not your type and seeing how we started out I'm surprised that you are my type, but you are and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to have dinner…with me."

"You like me?" Paris questioned, still surprised.

"Yes."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

Colin nodded quickly. "Very much… yes."

Paris smiled a rare happy smile. "And you want to date me?"

Colin smiled too, breathing easier at the happy look on her face. His head screaming '_yes!' _Filled with more confidence, he got closer to her, grinning when her breath caught as he raised a hand to touch her cheek.

"Yes, Paris."

"Then…" Paris breathed. "Yes."


End file.
